Yugioh BRAVE
by Wolf-Prince-Leon
Summary: Collab with Kit Lupin. After being believed to 'just be a game' for years, Duel Monsters becomes real again, as Haru and his friends are pulled into a new crisis that threatens the world.
1. Chapter 1, I'm No Duelist

Since its genesis, Duel Monsters was a beloved game. Played for years and still it lives on. From the 1990s when it was first introduced, to the far future, it had risen to be a cornerstone of the world.

The year? 2123, a future of revolutionary travel and communication technology after the Third World War. The location? Echo Town, California, a town about 250 miles from Balboa Park, settled by Japanese immigrants who had come over in the late 21st century. The time? 8 AM, Pacific time. This was a joyous day, the anniversary of the Duelist Kingdom tournament, the tournament that named the very first King of Games. Duelists all over the world had gathered for the event.

That is, except for one.

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIING! went an alarm clock.

With a shout of surprise, someone tumbled out of bed in his dark room, landing on the floor in a tangle of plushies and blankets. Slowly, a twelve-year-old boy began to get up from the pile, his long blue hair all messed up and uncombed.

"Argh... why the heck did I set my alarm clock?" he muttered in a groggy voice. Then, on simple instinct, he looked at a nearby calendar. Right there, in big red letters, the day said, "Yugi Mutou Festival Day 1, win that Duel Disk. -Leon"

The boy groaned. "Shimatta. Darn Leon and his Dueling addiction. It was bad enough when he got that Duel Disk for his birthday, now this... But a bet's a bet. Better get up and get moving."

He got up and stretched, and went over to his dresser, to pick out some clothes.

Haru Taylor wasn't a seasoned Duelist at all. He'd just started two months ago, having been roped in by Leon McCloud, his closest and only friend. His deck was fairly good, but he made mistakes in the heat of battle, and was prone to panicking.

Knock knock knock!

"Haru? You up?" asked an older voice.

Haru jolted. It was the voice of his older brother, Haruka. Nineteen years old, athletic, and overall better than Haru at just about everything, Haruka was Haru's legal guardian while their parents were working in Japan. "..! Eh!? Y-yeah!" he stammered.

"Relax, little bro, just wanted to make sure. Anyway, Leon and Hunter are out front waiting for you. You dressed yet?"

Haru sighed. "Yeah, I'm ready. Lemme just get my ponytail." He grabbed a hair tie from atop his dresser drawer, and tied his hair back into a ponytail.

Outside, two were waiting-another preteen the same age as Haru, and a dog. The twelve year old, by the name of Leon, had short brown hair, blue eyes, and a blue hoodie over brown slacks and a black t-shirt. On his arm was strapped a Duel Disk, a standard KaibaCorp model in blue. The dog was a golden retriever with a blue bandanna around his neck, which covered his collar.

Soon, Haru opened the door. "Morning," he said. "You do realize that the sun isn't even up yet?"

"I wanna be at the front of the line this year, Haru," Leon said.

"You know how Leon is, always likes to be early instead of late," the dog said.

Haru rolled his eyes. "That doesn't mean he has to be up at the buttcrack of dawn, Hunter. And even after a year, I'm STILL not used to you talking."

"Really? Well, this is definitely an easier way to communicate," Hunter said, wagging his tail.

Hunter was a special dog... very special. He had an ability no one had seen before. You see, he could speak English, as if he were human. No one could explain or figure out how he gained this gift, but he was happy to have it, as it made him far more helpful as Leon's service dog.

See, Leon McCloud was a bit special himself. He was autistic- specifically, he had Asperger's Syndrome. He was naturally intelligent, but he wasn't the best socially. In fact, people tended to ostracize him at school. However, with help from his mother, and with Hunter to help advocate and protect him, his life's been getting better. In fact, he was the only person that befriended Haru.

Haru wasn't so sure he enjoyed the arrangement. Leon may have been a friend, but he was also, in a word, obnoxious. He was enthusiastic almost all the time about Dueling, and it was impossible to get him off the subject. Furthermore, he was hyperactive, to the point where Haru wondered if he even slept at night.

"Relax, Haru. It'll be worth it, remember? The first 25 people in this year get that card you've been after!" cheered Leon.

Haru raised an eyebrow. The card in question, The Agent of Judgment- Saturn, was actually a card Leon had been wanting. Leon dueled with Light-Attribute Fairies, but lately, the Agents Archetype had been on his mind. They'd caught his interest, so he'd been collecting them for a new deck.

"Come on inside," said Haru. "We'll eat breakfast first, then go."

"Well, Hunter and I ate, but I'm fine with that." Leon smiled.

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day after all!" barked Hunter.

After breakfast and a shower for Haru, Haru's older brother, Haruka, drove them to the site of the event.

"So who else is coming?" Haru asked casually.

"I was hoping the whole crew could come..." Leon twiddled his thumbs as they drove through an intersection on the green light. "Nicky, Zeo, Cyrus, and Lily, you know?"

Cyrus, Nicky, Lily, and Zeo were Leon's other friends. Haru didn't know them well, and they didn't know him well. It was a comfortable relationship that nobody seemed to want to change.

"Sadly... Nicky's sick, Lily's in Colorado visiting her family, and Zeo's in some place called Mathias, Maryland." The brunette sighed. "I wanted to have a fun day with everyone, but only Cyrus can come..."

Haru patted his friend's shoulder. "It's okay, buddy. You still got me."

"OH! ...Haru..." Leon dug in his pocket, and offered Haru a card pack. "An apology for the early wake up."

Haru was surprised. It was the new "Shadow of the Colossus" pack. Based on an old game from the early 21st century, it contained 21 cards- 5 representing the main characters from the game, and 16 representing the sixteen Colossi, the game's bosses. "Whoa. Um, apology accepted." Haru accepted the pack and opened it, curious which cards he'd get. His eyes widened as he saw the nine cards within.

Right there as the first card, was Hydrus, the Seventh Colossus. A Sea Serpent-Type monster, it was one of only two of the Colossus cards that would fit in Haru's deck.

"Did... you get Avion?" Leon asked.

Haru looked through the pack. "Pelagia, Dirge, Cenobia... Avion. Yup, here it is. You want?" He showed Leon Avion, the 5th Colossus.

"Yes please... trade for Wander?" Leon offered a card for Wander, the Colossus Slayer.

"Deal!" The two happily exchanged cards. Haruka, in the driver's seat, chuckled.

"Oh, we're almost to Cyrus's house."

"Hope he has those treats I love!" Hunter said.

Haru rolled his eyes. Cyrus's grandfather would never let him have a pet, so dog treats were out of the question.

So, as they parked by the mentioned house, another boy came out the door. This kid was younger and shorter than either of his fellows. With a short but shaggy mop of blond hair, a green shirt, and a camo jacket and pants, he was ready to go.

"Hi Cy!" Hunter said excitedly.

Cyrus bounded over to the car and jumped right in, giving Hunter a big hug.

"Excited for today?" Leon asked.

Cyrus nodded. "Yeah!"

"Cool!" Hunter smiled.

Leon, leaving Cyrus and Hunter to chat, put in his earbuds and enjoyed Happy by Pharrell Williams.

Haru, leaving the others to their own devices, shuffled through his new cards and wondered... Why did he get a feeling these would come into play later?

Before long they arrived at the festival, and they were in luck; the line hadn't started yet. The little crew was quickly entered into the festival area.

"You guys a bit early?" A booth operator said, after the kids arrived.

"Blame Mister Sunshine here," Haru said with a point of the thumb to Leon.

"Hey, I've had a long week leading up to today... VERY long."

"Long week my foot." Haru crossed his arms. "What's on the agenda, Leon?"

"First, we check out the different booths, then later, we try the duel challenge."

"Right. If you need me, I'll be practicing my Dueling skills over at the practice area." Haru, accustomed to ignoring most of Leon's commands, walked off.

"I'll be playing Megaman," Cyrus said, pulling out his 3DS.

"Duel Monsters event, remember?" Hunter reminded.

"I know, but I want to play my games."

"Okay... OH! Hunter, we need to check out the music store while we're here. We promised to get Lily new music."

Hunter nodded. "Let's go!" Boy and dog ran off, leaving Cyrus to follow Haru.

"You think Lily will like Robin S?" Hunter asked.

Leon nodded as he browsed a rack of CDs. "She loves old music."

"True. Oh... um Leon?" Hunter said.

"Huh?"

"The time..." Hunter looked at a nearby clock. On instinct, Leon did the same, and saw that the time of the Duel challenge was approaching alarmingly fast.

"Oh boy! Let's buy these and get moving!" Leon snagged the CDs and rushed to the counter.

At the center dueling stage, Haru and Cyrus were waiting for Leon. Haru looked somewhat bothered by the large crowds around them, and was rubbing his arm nervously.

"Um… I'm a little worried about this…" he mumbled.

"Why?" Cyrus asked.

"Well… I've never used a Duel Disk before." Haru sighed. "This challenge is obviously going to involve using one… and I don't even own one."

"Okay. It's easy!" Cyrus happily explained how a Duel Disk worked, using his own as an example.

Haru shook his head. "I'm still totally lost…"

"Monsters on top, spells and traps go in the slots underneath. the deck goes in this big slot." Cyrus said, pointing to the respective parts.

Haru observed the deck and sighed. "This is ridiculous. Why did Kaiba come up with these stupid devices anyway? They're just a way to sell more cards."

"Remember? They're for Dueling on the go."

"That's still stupid. If you wanna Duel, you should just take your cards and maybe a game mat. You don't need all this fancy stuff." Haru crossed his arms and huffed. "Holograms and nonsense… it's just ridiculous."

Then, Haru had a bunch of people staring at him, not taking his comment well.

"You better take that back, kid," an older woman threatened.

"Yeah! What's your problem?"

"Some of us like the high-tech edge."

Haru rolled his eyes. "You guys are a bunch of babies. Can't take any opinion that isn't like yours."

"OH!" someone said. "We got us a trash talker!"

Someone stepped out of the audience- a guy wearing what was probably the most ridiculously over-the-top costume Haru had ever seen, and since his older brother enjoyed cosplay, that was saying something. It was a full set of greenish-grey plate armor with plenty of dinosaur motifs. It even had a tail- a TAIL.

Haru stared at this mysterious creature. "...And… you are?" he asked.

"Chase Kennedy, Dino Duelist and last year's challenge champion. As such, I am this years challenge duelist... and I thank you for volunteering to be my first victim. Now, time for your name, mister Kaito ripoff."

Haru gulped. "Haru Taylor. I'm here for that special Duel Disk by request of a friend."

"In your dreams, ponytail."

"...what did you just call me?"

"Ponytail." Chase smirked. "What are you, a girl? No guy worth his salt wears a ponytail! God, I bet you're a tran-"

WHAM.

Haru was already ticked off by the sexist comment, but at Chase's transmisogyny, he decided he'd had enough, so he reared back, and PUNCHED Chase right in the face. Everyone gasped as Chase recoiled, his nose now leaking blood.

"You insult me for my ponytail? When you're standing there in a tacky dino suit? What, do you wanna be an ACTUAL dinosaur like that freak Hassleberry?" Haru spat. "If you're the challenge Duelist for this little shindig, I'll bet I could beat you in five turns flat!"

"...Name your ante, punk."

Haru held up his deck. "My whole deck. If you win, you can take it."

"If I win, you get a haircut like a REAL man, AND I have a Triceratops costume for you for the day."

Haru rolled his eyes. "Like heck I'll let you beat me if that's the ante. What are you willing to give up if you lose?" he asked.

"This." Chase held up the Duel Disk Haru was after. "And to sweeten the deal, if you win, I'll never wear this costume again. Though I doubt you could beat me. How's that?"

"Cyrus, may I borrow your Duel Disk?" Haru asked.

Cyrus nodded and gave Haru the disk. He fumbled with it for a bit before strapping it onto his arm, and inserted his deck. "Where we gonna duel?"

"Right here, and now." Chase said, readying his own Duel Disk, which was just as gaudy as his outfit.

The crowd surrounding them parted to give them space for the Duel, and as both Disks turned on and their Life Points were set to 8000, an area around them began to glow slightly- an arena.

(Haru: 8000) (Chase: 8000)

Leon and Hunter arrived just in time. "A duel?"

Leon gasped. "That costume… Haru's dueling the Champion!"

"Champ first!" Chase drew. "I play the field spell, Gaia Power."

Soon, the field was covered in trees. The urban scenery of the festival had been replaced by a peaceful and serene forest, where none of the spectators were visible.

"Now, all Earth Monsters get 500 extra Attack Points." Chase smirked. "Next comes Balloon Lizard." In front of him, a circular gate of orange energy opened, and out came an odd creature- a greatly inflated lizard. (ATK 1000)

Haru raised an eyebrow. "That's a weird card to open with."

"Oh, you're in for a treat... a treat called Ultra Evolution Pill!" The Dinosaur Duelist played another card, and the Balloon Lizard began to convulse and flip around and around in midair. "Now you get to meet my friend, Black Tyranno!"

The lizard exploded, and another gate opened. From it came a HUGE creature- a Tyrannosaurus rex, twice as tall as Haru and looking mean as anything. (ATK 3100)

"Next comes Invigoration. Another 400 for my friend!"

Haru backed up slightly as the T. rex roared, its Attack going up. (ATK 3500)

"Th-thirty-five hundred Attack Points…" he stammered.

"Right! So, my Tyranno… attack!"

Nothing happened.

"...PSYCH!" Chase cackled. "Ya fell for it! Every smart duelist knows ya can't attack on the first turn."

'Actually, your opponent didn't react," said a teen on Chase's side of the audience.

"Shut up Joshua, no one has time for your bullcrap. He's quaking in his boots!"

Indeed, Haru was visibly shaking at the sight of this humongous, terrifying dinosaur that he was facing down. Of course, he'd been doing that before the faked attack, but Chase didn't seem to care.

"What's gotten into you, Chase? What's with the bully attitude?" Joshua questioned.

Chase gave him a look so severe that the audience member backed off. "Shut up and let the master do his work!"

"MASTER?! This isn't the Chase I grew up with! Something's wrong!" Joshua thought. "Hey! Blue-hair!"

Haru perked up and looked at Joshua. "W-what?" he stuttered.

"You can beat this guy!" Joshua shouted. "Believe me, he's all talk!"

"Shut up, Joshua! Make your move, Ponytail!"

Haru drew, and as he faced the Tyranno again, his knees began knocking once more. "Ulp… here's hoping I can do this…" He consulted his hand, and played a card. "I'll set a face-down card, and summon Gishki Abyss…"

Another orange gate opened, and out came a very unusual monster. From the neck down, it looked like a purple-skinned man without a shirt, wearing red tattoos on his body as well as a gold sash over black pants, but his head was…

...well, it was a shark. Not a shark head. A shark. This strange monster bared its teeth at Tyranno, holding up a golden trident it was carrying. (ATK 800)

Even with this new Monster on the field, Haru didn't feel very reassured. The Tyranno was still there, still scary, and still with 3500 ATK. All he had was a puny little 800 ATK card… except that it had an effect.

"Please. You attack and you'll lose," Chase taunted.

Haru shook his head. "I'm not going to attack. I… I have an effect. When Abyss is summoned, I get to take any "Gishki" Monster with 1000 Defense Points or less, and add it right to my hand."

"Oh... but if you keep that thing in Attack Mode, you WILL take damage WHEN I attack."

"I don't intend to." Haru turned around two cards in his hand: Gishki Shadow and Gishki Vision. "See these cards?"

"So what?" Chase asked.

"I can discard these cards in order to pick up any "Gishki" Ritual Spell and Ritual Monster from my deck. Shadow gives me the Spell, and Vision gets me the Monster." Haru slotted both cards into his Graveyard, and took out his deck to look through. "Um… one second, please."

Leon and Hunter managed to get through the crowd, and to the front. "Whoa! Haru's Dueling?" Leon asked.

Hunter wanted to say something, but there were too many people around. He settled for barking worriedly.

"Friends of yours?" Chase asked mockingly as he noticed the two behind his opponent. "That's all you got? The school retard and his mutt?! Wow, you really are worthless."

Haru winced at the word "retard" as he leafed through his deck. Eventually, he found the cards he wanted. He heard Leon growling, and gulped. "L-Leon, I can take him… don't worry, okay?"

"...If you insist, but you know how I feel about that word." Leon frowned, Hunter growling at Chase.

"I've had it," Joshua scoffed, as he walked from Chase's side over to Haru's. "I did not fly out here to spend time with a jerk."

Chase's eyes widened. "What are you doing?!" he snarled. "Get your butt back over here before I crush you too!"

"Sorry, I don't associate myself with the lower moral classes," Joshua countered nonchalantly. He examined his fingernails, then looked at Haru. "Oi, blue-hair, are you ready?"

"Can you please not call me 'blue-hair'? My name is Haru…" Haru mumbled.

"Right. Haru it is." Joshua grinned. "Kick his butt!"

"Go for it!" Leon said, Hunter barking excitedly.

Haru nodded. "R-right. I activate Gishki Aquamirror!"

"What... you actually HAVE a Ritual Spell card? I thought those were obsolete!" Chase shouted.

"There's something to be said for obsolete things…" Haru played the card, and a green gate opened on the field.

"What do you mean by that?" Joshua asked.

Haru gazed with green eyes upon the field. "Even things people toss aside can have value."

"That's deep," Joshua said, impressed.

From the green gate, a large, fiendish-looking mirror appeared. Carved of golden metal and etched with blue runes, there was a red icon in the center of the mirror that resembled the mirror's overall shape. The runes and the red icon began to shine brightly.

"I Tribute Abyss and the two Gishki Chain cards in my hand, in order to Ritual Summon the strongest card in my deck."

The Abyss on the field vanished into a vortex of blue light as Haru removed its card from his Duel Disk and placed it in his Graveyard, then did the same to two more in his hand. The mirror, lit up like the Fourth of July, began to spin, slowly at first, then faster and faster.

"Whatever you're summoning, I can take it!" laughed Chase.

"Really? Because I summon Gishki Zielgigas." Haru played one last card, and from deep within the Aquamirror, something reached out… something out of a nightmare.

Hunter whimpered as he hid behind Leon and Joshua.

"Why is your dog so scared?" Joshua asked.

"This is Haru's scariest Monster… even facing it in a tabletop game gives me chills." Leon shivered.

"It's just a harmless card and hologram," Joshua said.

Leon shook his head. "Something about this one… feels different. I can't explain it, just look for yourself."

Something was pulling itself out of the mirror, clawing at the ground with four huge arms. More and more of the giant being continued to surface from the mirror, clad in golden armor, with dark blue skin and piercing red eyes. It resembled something like a humanoid, demonic stag beetle, an aura of fury surrounding it and the Aquamirror itself emblazoned on its chest. It pounded its chest with all four arms and roared. (ATK 3200)

Chase stared at the terrifying sight… before busting out into laughter. "HA! it's only 3200! My Black Tyranno is 300 points stronger! And THAT'S your best card? Maybe you should trade decks with the RETARD over there!"

Leon was getting more and more upset each time he heard that word. His fists were clenched, and it looked like he was about to rip Chase apart with his bare hands.

However, Haru just smirked. "Not so fast… because Zielgigas is an Effect Monster."

"What's it do? Let you pull out more cards?" Chase taunted.

"More accurately… if my luck is right, it lets me get rid of some." Haru took a deep breath. "First, I pay 1000 Life Points." (Haru: 8000 - 7000) He cringed as a red aura surrounded him and the Duel Disk's pain simulator kicked in. "Ow… But in exchange, I get to draw one card."

"That lets you get rid of a card?" Joshua asked, confused.

Haru drew one card. "Mhm… because if the card is a Gishki monster, I get to shuffle one card on the field back into the Deck."

Haru had drawn Gishki Ariel. He turned the card forward. "Now… I shuffle your Black Tyranno back into your deck. You won't be seeing it for a long time."

Black Tyranno screeched as a twister formed on the field, sucking it up before vanishing without a trace.

"WHAT!?" Chase's jaw dropped.

"You lost your Tyranno," Joshua said.

"I… you…" Chase threw back his head and screamed. "You're gonna pay for that, you #$! punk!" Suddenly Chase seemed in pain, before he looked at his foe with a dark expression. "Make your move, Ponytail. I'll just crunch you next turn."

Haru's burst of confidence during his turn quickly dissipated. "I… uh… I… I end my turn…"

"You... didn't attack?"

"Haru, what are you doing? You had him right there!" shouted Leon. Boos began to come from the audience.

Haru cringed. "S-sorry…" he mumbled. "I… I got scared…"

"Ha! You're too much of a wimp to even attack!" Chase drew. "I play a spell called Card of Demise. Does your puny brain know how this card works?"

"Y-yeah… you draw five cards, but you have to discard your whole hand in five turns…"

Chase drew five cards. "Hey... I'm gonna be nice for once and ask you something a bit on the cool side. Have you heard of the Phantom G Dueling tournament held last year?"

Haru had, in fact, heard of it. It was a special Dueling tournament in which the participants couldn't make Special Summons of any kind. The Champion turned out to be... Chase...

"Well?"

Haru slowly nodded.

"This is the card I won in that tournament... Pay for Life!" Chase played a new card, one Haru had never seen before. "First, both players must pay 2000 Life points."

Haru winced as he felt an impact hit him like a sledgehammer to the gut. "Yow! What… what kind of sadistic card is this!?" (Haru: 7000-5000)

Chase however, when hit, went silent, his eyes black as night. (Chase: 8000-6000)

"What's wrong with you!?" Joshua snapped. "Why do you use such cruel cards!?"

Chase then spoke, a huge distortion in his voice like someone was speaking alongside him.. "Now... we each can special summon a level 7 or higher Monster from our main decks, disregarding any summon effects or restrictions... so behold, Super Conductor Tyranno!"

He slapped a card down onto the field, and another Tyrannosaurus rose onto the field. Unlike Black Tyranno, though, this one was even bigger, covered in poisonous green scales, and augmented with strange cybernetic implants. Haru went rigid as it roared at him. (ATK 3300)

Then, to Haru's surprise, the Monster seemed to talk.

"Next, I normal summon Uraby in Attack Mode."

A velociraptor of sorts, smaller than the two tyrannosaurs and jet black, appeared. It glowered at Haru suspiciously. (ATK 1500)

Haru gulped. "This isn't good…"

"Fear not, boy, you're not alone," a voice said.

"Wha…?" Haru looked around. "W-who's there?"

"In front of you, child." the voice said.

Haru looked at Zielgigas. "...Ziel… Gigas?"

"No, silly. In your hand. Me. Ariel."

"Ariel?" Haru looked at his hand.

"Exactly. You can do this! Don't freak out!"

"What's going on?"

"I can explain later. For now, you must summon a high level monster, as per Pay for Life's effect."

"Right. I summon… Evigishki Levianima! Level 8!"

A blue gate opened on Haru's field, and out came a large blue dragon with a shock of white hair, wearing red pants and carrying a mirror that resembled the Aquamirror around his neck. In his hand was a long, sharp sword, which he brandished against Tyranno. (ATK 2700)

Leon facepalmed. "Haru, what are you doing? You could've summoned another Zielgigas for a better chance at wiping Chase out!"

"Good call on Levianima. Now when he attacks with Tyranno, remember your Face Down."

Haru nodded. "R-right."

"ATTACK!" The Tyranno charged at Levianima. In response, the draconic Gishki readied to strike with his blade…

"I- I activate Mirror Force!" Haru shouted, flipping over his face-down.

WHAM! Super Conductor Tyranno slammed into a solid wall of light that radiated out from Levianima. This same wall crashed right into Uraby, who shrieked as the light wall forced its way through it. Both Monsters exploded into pixels.

"Turn... end..." Chase was silent after that.

Haru drew one last card. Something inside him sparked the light of confidence once more, and he held his head high, declaring his final commands in a clear voice. "Alright… let's finish this! I summon Gishki Ariel, and attack directly with all three of my Monsters!"

Zielgigas was up first. It reared back, then punched Chase right in the gut with all its might. The Dinosaur Duelist flinched at the phantom pain. Following this, Levianima drew his sword once more and bullrushed Chase, slashing him across the chest. Good thing he was in his armor. Finally, a blue-haired girl in the garb of a Spellcaster, bearing some similarity to Haru himself, materialized on the field (ATK 1000), and swung her staff at Chase. It extended to a length where she could hit him from far away, and Chase was whacked upside the head with it. The armored Duelist screamed in pain as he was knocked prone.

(Chase: 6000 - 0)

(DUEL OVER)

"WHOA! You did it, Haru!" Leon said, running to Haru with Hunter, Joshua, and Cyrus in tow.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Before anyone could react, Chase got back on his feet and tackled Leon, putting his razor-sharp Duel Disk to Leon's neck. "Rematch, or this retard gets it!" he shrieked as he moved the Disk's edge closer and closer to Leon's fragile skin.

Haru laughed darkly. "...I wouldn't threaten Leon's life if I were you..."

"And why is-"

CHOMP.

All that time, Hunter had been sneaking up behind Chase, and had now bitten him in the ankle, right in a gap in his armor.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!" Chase let go of Leon, Hunter let go of Chase, and he and Joshua got Leon away from Chase.

"Because Hunter is Leon's service dog and guardian, trained to protect Leon when he's in danger," Haru said.

"Meaning you opened yourself as an enemy by attacking Leon," Joshua said.

Chase snarled and growled at them, trying to get up off the ground he had fallen on but failing.

"HARU! WE NEED TO SEAL THE PARASITE!" Ariel said.

"The wha-!?" Haru looked helplessly at his cards. "I don't understand, what are you talking about!?"

"Hold up my card and I'll handle the rest." Ariel instructed.

Haru nodded, then picked up the Ariel card from his Duel Disk and held it up.

To Haru's shock, a mist issued from the card, and a miniature Ariel came out of it, a transparent but pinpoint accurate image of the illustration. The blue-haired boy watched in amazement as Ariel dipped her intangible fingers into Chase's forehead, and drew forth a huge, black shadow.

"Wha… what am I seeing…?"

The smoky shadow dissipated, to reveal a miniature Super Conductor Tyranno.

"Let... me.. .go..." it growled, struggling in Ariel's grip.

The tiny Spellcaster grabbed it by the neck. "You chose to be a Parasite, and lost. You are too weak to resist your fate. Now, be locked in the sacred mirror of my tribe, and pray that the Star Creator God will have mercy on your miserable soul!"

The Aquamirror that was atop Ariel's staff began to shine with an indescribable light. She swung the staff around her head, once, twice, three times, before bashing Tyranno over the head with it. The Dinosaur, twice her size in miniature form, wailed piteously as its entire essence seemed to be devoured by the Aquamirror, its whole body being absorbed into the golden mirror. Once the Dinosaur was truly gone, Chase stopped in his tracks, stared at Haru for a moment, then fell asleep right there, collapsing to the ground for the final time.

Haru stood there, totally stunned, as Ariel turned back to him and gave him a wink before disappearing.

"You okay?" Joshua asked Haru. When Haru didn't respond, he waved a hand in front of the blue-haired boy's face. "Helloooooo? Anyone home?"

"Oh. sorry... Joshua, right?" Haru asked.

Joshua nodded. "Yeah. Man, I have no idea what got into Chase. Normally he's super nice... Living in Echo Town might not've been worth it after all." He shook his head sadly. "I'm gonna get all this armor off him and take him home. See you guys later." He began removing the armor from Chase's body, revealing a sleeveless and jeans. But what else it revealed made everyone cringe.

Running up the side of Chase's face, framed by a halo of pale green hair, was a long, shiny scar. There were scars and bruises all over his arms, and burn marks on his neck.

"...Haru…" Joshua looked up at Haru. "I'm going back to Colorado tonight. If you see Chase again… please, forgive him for the things he's done."

Haru met Joshua's eyes, then stared at the scar on Chase's face. His expression didn't change, but behind his eyes, deep in his mind, memories of a time that was not so long ago, and yet so far away, returned to the surface. "...I'll try," he said softly. "Not sure about Leon and Hunter though."

"That's alright… just, please. Don't think badly of him." Joshua kicked a stray piece of the armor away, then hefted Chase's sleeping body up over his own shoulder, walking away without a word.

"That guy was... odd..." Leon said.

Haru frowned and took off the Duel Disk, putting his cards away. "Yeah… Cyrus, here's your Disk back…"

"Thanks... now you have one, Haru."

Haru realized that Chase had set the Duel Disk he had put up for ante on the other side of the field. He walked over, weaving his way through a throng of people who were clamoring around it, and picked it up. It was a nice one too, clean as a whistle, not a scratch. The design was gold and blue, and more rounded than Chase's sharp Disk or Leon and Cyrus's square ones. Haru sighed. "A Duel Disk, huh…"

All of a sudden, the boy felt drained, and the day didn't seem like fun any more. "...Leon, I gotta go. I don't feel well."

Leon's face fell. "Okay... see you later..."

He and Cyrus waved goodbye as Haru walked back to the entrance of the park.

"Hey, kid."

Haru stopped as he was about to leave the plaza, and turned around. "Huh?"

The event's greeter was sitting at the entry table, holding out a card. It was The Agent of Judgment- Saturn. "You were the twenty-fifth person to enter, and you forgot this."

"Oh... thank you..." Haru accepted the card.

"You look kind of down, kid. Is something wrong? You're not with your friends."

"Just had a draining duel."

"Mm… Disk Duels, they can be hard for novices. How 'bout you take home an energy drink? Should help you feel better." The greeter offered a bottle of said drink from a cooler next to him.

Haru shook his head. "I don't like drinking that… makes my teeth hurt."

"Oh.. okay... take care."

Once Haru was home...

Haruka gazed quizzically on his little brother. When Haru had called him to give him a ride home, the drive had been totally silent. Now, it was time for answers. The two were sitting on the sofa together, watching cartoons.

"What's wrong, Haru? Why did you want to come home so early?" he asked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Well, tell me anyway."

Haru looked up at Haruka, contemplating whether to tell him or not about the things he had seen.

"...I had those memories again."

"...You're joking, right?" Haruka laughed. "You're just kidding, aren't you?"

Haru shook his head.

"...oh, Haru…" The laughter stopped, and Haruka embraced his brother, muting the TV. Haru hugged Haruka back. "What triggered them?"

"Well... I dueled this guy named Chase to get this Duel Disk. He was wearing armor and hiding his face, see, and when he lost, his friend Joshua helped him take off his armor… and I saw… something there that brought back the memories."

Haruka's eyes widened. "Did you say... Chase? As in Chase Kennedy?"

"Yeah… why?"

"I hate that guy!" Haruka yelled, causing Haru to break from their hug with a yelp. "He used to be nice, but after the Phantom G tournament he turned into a jerk, a bully, a Dinosaur-obsessed nutjob!"

"AFTER Phantom G?" Haru asked.

"Yeah, after Phantom G. He really started showing his true colors in his next televised Duel, when he started playing that big robo dino… what was it called? It was that big Light-Attribute one…"

"...It wouldn't happen to have been Super Conductor Tyranno, would it?"

"...Yes... why?"

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Both brothers turned to the door.

"Who could that be?" Haru asked. Haruka just shrugged. Out of sheer curiosity, Haru answered the door.

Standing there, without his armor… was Chase.

"Aah!" Haru turned back to Haruka. "Kuso, Haruka, you jinxed it! You badmouthed Chase and now he's here! Why do you have to do things like that, aho?!"

"You're... that kid I dueled today earlier today... right?" Chase asked.

Haru whipped back around to Chase again and nodded. "I'm so sorry for hurting you so bad, oh my god, are you okay? Please don't kill me-"

"Cool it… I'm only here to talk."

"T-t-t-t-talk? W-w-w-why..."

"...I need to thank you..."

Haruka gazed upon the strange scene. "...uhm… come in and have some tea," he said awkwardly.

"Here, Chase, have some lemon balm tea." Haruka offered Chase a cup of tea on a small, dainty saucer. The television had been turned off, and they were all sitting on the couch, sharing tea and cookies over a glass coffee table.

Chase took the tea and a flat, dry shortbread cookie. "Thanks." He dipped the cookie in his tea and took a bite. "This tastes good."

"It's a special tea for stress relief. I give it to Haru every now and again. I wish there was one for fatigue after playing sports!" Haruka laughed. "So, tell us why you're here."

"Well… Dueling Haru… how do I say it?" Chase tapped his fingers together. "It sorta… did something to me. See.. ever since I dueled in the Phantom Q, I felt like the whole world was shrouded in darkness, or something like that. I felt trapped in a nightmare and couldn't wake up... until after our Duel... following a sharp pain in my ankle..."

Haru recalled that Hunter had bitten Chase on the ankle after the Duel. "...weird…"

"...well... I feel like I owe you so much... For helping me." Chase hung his head. "You lifted a shadow from over me… how can I repay you?"

Haru said one thing. "...Ditch the dino armor."

"...can I please keep the tail, at least?" Chase blushed.

Haru shrugged. "Do you like that tail?"

"Quite a bit." Chase ate another cookie. "I made it myself, you know?"

"...okay. You can keep the tail."

Chase smiled. "Thanks, dude. So… how'd ya get that good?"

"...practice, planning, and the right cards." Haru shrugged. "I panicked a lot, though."

"Easily intimidated?"

Haru nodded. "It's a long story," he said. "Eh, it's no problem right now… you really are nicer now."

"Nicer?" asked Chase. "When was I a jerk?"

"The entire duration of our Duel."

"I see... so... I'd like to start over..." Chase said. He offered Haru a hand. "Hello, I'm Chase Kennedy, Duelist and future audio composer for the top RPG games. And you?"

"Haru Taylor, friendless loser and professional stay-at-home." Haru shook Chase's hand.

"Not anymore... Let's give friendship a shot," Chase said, smiling.

Haru recoiled as if he'd been hit. "No!" he said abruptly. He was starting to shake and tremble heavily, like he was out in the cold. "I can't!"

"But... why not...?" Chase's expression turned to one of bafflement. "No one deserves to be alone. We gotta look out for each other."

"No, no, no, no, no!" repeated Haru. "I can't do it at all! I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't, I can't!" He closed his eyes and covered his ears with his hands, starting to hyperventilate.

"What the-"

"Shimatta!" Haruka swore. "Chase, get out of here, he's having a panic attack!"

While he was a little confused, Chase wisely took Haruka's advice, and quickly left. Haru couldn't stop shaking, trembling like a building in an earthquake.

Haruka grabbed onto Haru's quaking shoulders. "Haru, breathe. It's okay. I'm here. Take a deep breath." The younger brother tried to obey, but his breath came through as short, shuddering gasps..

"Bi-big bro…" Haru choked out. "Help… I'm so scared..."

"Calm down... Chase is gone now... you can breathe now."

Haru tried to breathe again, tears now streaming from his green eyes. His breathing began to slow. Gradually, he was able to calm down, albeit a bit emotionally unstable.

"I'm sorryyy…" he whimpered.

"Daijoubu," Haruka said softly, hugging Haru close and rubbing his little brother's back. "Don't worry, little brother. It's okay."

"...I'm gonna go to my room to rest..." Haru said.

"Okay." Haruka nodded. "If you need anything, just call me." He let go of Haru, who got up and padded out of the living room, going down the hallway to his own room.

Once Haru was in his room proper, he sighed and yanked off the hair tie he was wearing, letting his long blue hair tumble back down into its natural position.

"Scuse me... may I come out and speak with you?" It was Ariel's voice. Haru clenched his teeth in anger and reached into his pocket, then grabbed his deck and threw it down onto his dresser. The cards fell everywhere, and Haru didn't even bother to clean them up. Instead, he just stomped over to his bed, kicked his shoes off, and slipped himself under the bed covers, his clothes still on. "Guess it can wait."

"Just shut up…" Haru covered his head with a pillow. "I don't need more trouble."

Behind Leon's house, someone waited.

"You promise I can punish him AND those close to him?" someone asked.

"Exactly, hahaha. You're clever, kiddo!"

"Good... you're mine tomorrow, Leon McCloud."


	2. Chapter 2, The Light of Brotherhood

The weekend. No school, no homework, the weekend is every good student's time to play. Leon was no exception to this. As he got up for the day on Saturday, he was excited for the day.

"Yeah! Another day of fun after the festival!" he said to himself as he got ready, shedding his pajamas in favor of his usual day clothes.

Hunter stretched as he got up. "Don't forget the weekly walkies!" he said. Once a week, Leon took Hunter out for a walk on a small hiking trail nearby.

"Of course, Hunter." Leon chuckled, then checked the news on his smartphone. "Hey! Looks like there's a new Free Deal MV!"

"Sounds good," Hunter said. "Gonna listen to it now?"

"Can't, our schedule is full around. First, breakfast, then your walk, meeting the others at the Plaza, then we get Cody, and go bowling!"

Hunter nodded. "Awesome. Uh… but what about Haru? He seemed kinda upset yesterday..."

"Ever since his duel with Dino Dude, he's been like that… like he's scared by something." Leon shrugged. "He'll be alright. I know him."

Haru had fallen asleep after his panic attack, and awoke at ten AM the next morning, looking like a train wreck. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair tangled and messy from tossing and turning in his sleep, and although he'd gotten roughly twenty-two hours of sleep, he still had dark rings under his eyes.

"_NOW may I come out?" _Ariel asked.

Haru sighed. "Whatever you are, it's clear that you don't know a thing about panic attacks."

"_You're currently a physical and emotional wreck," _Ariel summed up.

"Well, yeah." Haru shrugged. "Can I at least get some breakfast and a shower first?"

"_Okay... but may I still come out please?"_

"Sure… whatever." Haru sighed and got up, stripping off his clothes and tidying up his deck, before going to the shower.

Ariel popped out of her card happy, before feeling a pain in the neck, no pun intended.'"_OY! Ten thousand years will give such a pain in the neck."_

Haru recognized the bad attempt at a movie reference for what it was and rolled his eyes. "Get serious. What's all this about, anyway?"

"_Well... Where to start?"_

"The beginning." The preteen folded his arms as he entered the shower and turned on the warm water. "And before you ask, no, I'm not disturbed by the fact that you're watching me shower."

"_You don't realize it yet, but Duel Monsters are REAL!"_

Idly, Haru began scrubbing himself with a bar of red soap. "Riveting. And that's important… why?"

"_Because there is more. We Duel Spirits fall into two categories. Some, such as myself, are Partners, the kind, caring, loving, gentle, playful, or otherwise good spirits that work to make their human partners safe and happy, to maintain harmony with them."_

Haru snorted. "You haven't been doing a very good job, if yesterday's freakout is any indication."

"_Don't get sassy with me, mister," _Ariel scolded. "_Anyway, spirits like that Conductor Tyranno, they're Parasites, Spirits that have been corrupted by greed, fear, anger, or other darknesses." _

"You sound like a character from a cartoon," Haru complained. "I don't wanna deal with this nonsense."

"_You do if you wanna protect your brother or friends."_

Haru grit his teeth. "I don't have friends. None but Leon."

"_Well, he's in danger now, as is Haruka," _Ariel said.

"What the hell are you talking about, you creep?" Haru asked darkly.

"_Parasites go after humans. They feed on darkness and will do anything for more. While those with Partners are safe, Parasites WILL target those close to the Partnered to get at them."_

The soap fell on the floor.

The next thing Ariel knew, Haru was trying to grab her around the neck, aiming to throttle her. "YOU FREAKING NUTJOB! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!"

"_I'm a spirit- untouchable, literally, and it's not ME who's messed up, it's the Parasites!" _At Ariel's words, Haru stopped. _"They only care about people being miserable. I want to help you keep those you hold dear safe... I doubt we can Partner up all of them, but we can try as many as possible."_

"Agreed on that, at least," sighed Haru, trying to calm down. "Ugh… this is going to be so much more trouble than it's worth."

"_Who is it that's truly important to you?"_

Haru shrugged. "Haruka and Leon… but this raises another question," he said.

"_Hmmm? Ask away."_

"If Parasites are everywhere, like you say," Haru asked, "why haven't any tried to attack me or the people around me before now?"

"_Because I've been hidden, secretly protecting you, while hiding myself for the eyes of others, till you awoke your power."_

"...Power?"

"_To interact with Duel Spirits, and you are one of only six children in town with this power, but the only other one with the power awakened... is... dangerous to bond with."_

Haru frowned thoughtfully. "Well, who are they?"

"Well... I don't know... but we need to find them... but for now... let's see about Partnering up your brother."

"Alright." Haru picked up the soap and put it back, before beginning to shampoo his hair with the blue contents of a bottle in the shower. "I'm going bowling with Leon and his friend Cody this evening, so maybe you can find a solo Duel Spirit over at Jakoku Bowling Alley."

"_Jakoku?" _Ariel asked, tilting her head.

"It's the name of some place from some novel that was released in the early 2000s. The owner's a big fan of those books."

"_I see… what are you going to do today besides go bowling?" _

"I gotta take some minestrone to Leon's friend Nicky, he's been sick since Sunday."

"_Alright… See you at Jakoku, then?"_

"Yep... back in the card, and don't get yourself another neck crick."

"_Not funny." _ Nevertheless, Ariel returned to her card, and Haru finished up in the shower. Toweling himself off, he looked in the mirror and decided to keep his hair down today.

At the local park and playground, Leon and Hunter were on their walk, watching local kids younger than Leon, playing around without a care in the world. Leon smiled and hummed a bit as he saw two little kids, barely five, playing tag in the grassy field, as their father watched from afar.

"Kids that age have the good life," Leon said.

Hunter looked around to make sure no one was too close before replying. "But growing up is normal."

"True, but being a kid is cool, remember the fun we had when I was a kid and you were a pup?"

Hunter nodded. "That was great."

"Hey, Leon! Hey, Hunter!" a voice shouted from behind. Both boy and dog turned to see a kid younger than them running up the park road, waving wildly with his right hand, his fluffy brown hair bouncing as he did.

"Hi Cody, you got an extra early day today?" asked Leon.

Cody nodded. "Uh-huh! Teach let us out early cuz of the Yugi Mutou festival!"

"ARF! ARF!" Hunter barked.

"Hunter!" Cody got on his knees and petted the service dog's head. "Who's a good boy?"

"Arf arf arf!" Hunter nuzzled Cody lovingly.

"Well, you guys are doing well." Leon joined the little huddle, playing with Hunter and Cody happily, and all was right in their little world.

"Haruka, where did you put the minestrone?" Haru asked as he rifled through the fridge. Haruka was in the living room watching television, and Haru was having very little luck locating the elusive bowl of Italian soup the duo had made from scratch over the hours, which he was to take to his ailing acquaintance.

"On the counter, piping hot," Haruka called over the sounds of SpongeBob SquarePants playing on TV.

Haru looked on the counter, and sure as sunshine, it was there, innocently steaming as though nothing was wrong. "Thanks. Should I take it over now or no?"

"Your pick. He lives three doors down, after all."

"Okay then, but you'd better be ready to go meet Leon, Cyrus, and Cody for bowling."

Haruka laughed. "Jeez, Haru, it's only one thirty. We have plenty of time to watch cartoons. Plus the bowling doesn't open till noon. OH! It's time for the premiere of the new Sly Cooper cartoon!"

Haru sighed, picked up the bowl, and procured a thermos to pour the soup into. "Do they make television shows out of everything nowadays? Sheesh."

"What's the big deal?"

"Nothing, it's just kinda annoying."

"Well, the cartoon apparently is the story of Sly 1-3 with new characters and events added."

If you hadn't guessed already, Haruka was an enormous cartoon fanatic. Haru liked watching cartoons too, but not to the extent of his older brother. It was kind of weird, Haru thought as he exited the house, thermos of minestrone in tow.

Back at the park, Leon felt uneasy, constantly looking around, feeling like he was being watched.

"Leon, what's wrong?" Cody asked as they played soccer on the field. "You look nervous."

"Eh... I dunno, but... did you ever have the feeling you were being... watched?"

Cody looked bemused. He shook his head and kicked the soccer ball to Leon. "No... "

"Eh... must be my imagination... Heads up!" Leon kicked it to Hunter.

As a matter of fact, Leon was indeed being watched- watched by someone with very malevolent intent.

"_Go 'head, mess with the pup. But not too badly. Use my powers."_

"_Okay." _ Someone placed a card on a Duel Disk. "_Dark Room of Nightmare."_

At that moment, Hunter was caught a little off guard by the ball, and it accidently hit him on the side. To the horror of Leon and Cyrus, he howled in sheer agony, falling to the ground and writhing in pain.

"HUNTER!" Leon ran to Hunter's side. He tried to see what was wrong with the little dog, but his every touch made Hunter scream even louder.

"Oh no... please... no... what do I do?" Leon was worried sick, not knowing what to do.

Then a voice in his head spoke.

"_I shall help you. Gently place your hand on the dog."_

Leon thought it was nothing but his own mind talking, but he decided to take the advice of the voice. He lifted his hands from Hunter, then slowly placed his right hand on the dog's side.

"_By the power of the angels, let the illusion be no more."_

Slowly, Hunter's convulsions faded. The retriever whimpered slightly.

"You okay, Hunter?" Leon asked.

With a couple more whimpers, Hunter nodded, nuzzling Leon.

"Let's play something a little less painful," Leon suggested.

Of all of Leon's four best friends, besides him, Haru could safely say that the one he liked being around the least was Nicky Anderson. At age eleven, he was a year younger than both Haru and Leon, but the way he acted suggested that he had grown up too fast.

Nicky was usually very serious, almost a stick-in-the-mud, except for the words he said. His speech had an almost lyrical quality to it, and he was often found scribbling in a notebook the words of poems that he created himself. What was odd about this was how jumpy he was over this notebook, and over many of his other possessions- he became very nervous when people looked through his notebook, his sketchbook, or his Deck.

But he did have his good points. For one, he was the smartest of the circle of friends, and was willing to help others when they had trouble.. In fact, he seemed to go out of his way to help people in need sometimes. As such, even though he sometimes gave Haru the creeps with how bizarre he acted, Haru was willing to help him out as well.

Ding dong! Haru rang the doorbell. There was silence for a few moments, before a tall man with brown hair that faded to pink at the tips answered. This was Lawrence, Nicky's father.

"Oh, hello! You're that neighbor boy, right?" he greeted.

"Yeah, my brother and I made minestrone for Nicky." Haru held up the thermos. "May I come in?"

"Sure, but Nicky's not in the mood for visits, so I wouldn't recommend staying long," Lawrence advised. He led Haru through the living room, across a cream-colored carpet, and down a long, low hallway, to a room with a hand-drawn sign reading "Nicky's Room".

Knock! Knock! Knock! "Nicky, you have a visitor," Lawrence said.

"Who?" a quiet voice on the other side responded.

"It's Haru, he brought you some minestrone." Lawrence said.

"...Please let him in."

Lawrence nodded and opened the door. "Be nice, now."

Haru entered the room. As usual, it was painted a calming grey, and Nicky's paintings were hung on the walls, above his extensive bookshelf. Lying in bed was the boy himself. He was short, and had blonde hair, which faded to bubblegum pink at the ends just like his father's.

"Hey there, got you minestrone for that flu of yours." Haru said, placing the thermos on the nightstand next to the bed.

"Thank you." Even when he was sick, Nicky's voice was quiet but clear.

"Hope you get well soon," Haru said.

"I will." Nicky's mouth, set in a firm line, smiled slightly, then returned to its normal, neutral expression. "Haru… I have advice for you." He coughed.

"Yes?" Haru raised an eyebrow.

Nicky coughed again, and looked Haru straight in the eye. Haru shuddered- Nicky's green eyes felt like they were piercing right through him with their gaze. "Be wary of those who offer you what you wish for."

"Um… o-okay?" Haru took a step back. "I'll… make sure to."

Back at the park, Leon, Hunter, and Cody were sitting down on a bench, chatting.

"Hey, Leon, do you find it weird that they haven't actually made Duel Monsters cards in a hundred years or so?" said Cyrus.

"Blame the Third World War, but they've started card production back up in recent years." Leon shrugged. "So no, it isn't weird."

"But... can you believe the newest cards? Look at these." Cody showed Leon an article detailing the new additions to the Toon World Archetype. "They're amazing, aren't they?"

Leon nodded. "They sure are!"

Hunter got a look, and barked happily at the sight of Toon Silver Fang.

"Oh, and on the next page is new Assault Modes." Cody turned the page. Soon, he and Leon were eagerly ogling the new /Assault Mode Monsters that had recently been released.

Nearby...

"How nice, they're bonding over cards... I might throw up."

"_Then have some more fun. Ruin theirs and everyone else's day with one card."_

"Trap Card... Rain Storm." As someone played a card, almost instantly, the sky began to darken.

"What the?" A kid said, noticing the clouds, "Mom said it was all clear skies today."

Drip... drip drip…

CRACK!

Lightning flashed through the sky, accompanied by the crashing of thunder, and rain began to pour harder and harder.

Dozens of children, adults, and pets were caught off guard and trapped in the torrential downpour. Everyone began to complain, all their happy times ruined by the rain. Sadness and anger growing among them, everyone, including Leon and friends, packed their things, and began trudging back home, grumbling and growling.

"What the? Rain?" Haru said, opening the door. It was pouring cats and dogs like nobody's business, and everyone looked surprised by the sudden downpour. "But today's weather was supposed to be totally clear…"

Haru's cellphone went off. Someone was calling him. Alarmed, he fumbled with it and picked it up. "H-hello?"

"**Hey, Haru, it's Leon."**

"Leon? What is it?"

"**Can you believe this rain?" **

"Frankly, no."

"**Well, looks like we gotta take our hangout to my place. Me, Hunter and Cody are on our way, and I already let Cyrus know. So once you're done with your errands just come to my house."**

"Alright. I took Nicky some soup, so I'll check with Haruka before I come over."

"**Okay, see ya soon." **Leon hung up.

"_This isn't mother nature at work," _Ariel said, popping into existence out of nowhere next to Haru's ear.

Haru groaned. "I thought I left you at home. What are you talking about?" he asked.

"_First, a question. What card is based off rain like this?"_

"Torrential Tribute?" Haru guessed at a glance.

"_Nope."_

"Poseidon's Wave?"

"_Try again."_

"Rain of Mercy?"

"_Getting warmer."_

_._

"Rain Storm?"

"_Bingo. Haru, this isn't a natural rainstorm. Someone caused this with the Rain Storm card."_

"Lemme guess... a Parasite?"

"_You're a quick learner, yes, and I sense one not far from here. A couple blocks east, headed north."_

Haru looked in the direction Ariel had indicated, and his eyes went wide. "Wait... on that block... heading in that direction... LEON!" Haru bolted down the driveway, running as hard as possible.

"Aw man, we're soaked," Leon said as they got inside his house. He sighed. "Better dry off…"

"Leon, you're home earlier than you said you'd be," his mother observed from the kitchen. "Did you get caught in the rain?"

"Yeah. Me, Cody, and Hunter were caught in the rain out of nowhere," Leon said, as Hunter and Cody came in, also soaked.

"Awww, you poor kids," Leon's mother said. "Go ahead and get yourselves a change of clothes. I'll let Cody's mom know he's here." She abandoned the bean salad she had been working on to go to the telephone, while Leon led the march up to his room to dry off and get changed. "You too, Cody," the matriarch mentioned as he exited the living room and went upstairs. "You're about Yukio's size and I have some old clothes from him."

"Yukio? Who could that be?" Cody asked.

"Leon's twin brother. He was taken by Leon's father after the divorce two years ago." Ms. McCloud looked upset. "It's not something I want to talk about."

"Okay..."

"Come on, let's get you into some dry clothes, and get Hunter dry too, while Leon is doing the same on his own," Ms. McCloud said, changing the subject. Cody just nodded quietly.

Haru ran into Cyrus on the way to Leon's place, and I mean ran into him literally.

"Ow! What the- Haru!?" Cyrus starred at the wild-eyed preteen in shock. "What's got you in such a rush?!"

"Leon's in danger!" Haru shouted. "No time to explain! Stay away from him or you'll get in trouble!" He rushed off again, leaving Cyrus very confused.

"Is that all that fit?" Ms. McCloud asked about three minutes later, as Cody came out of the bathroom, dressed in a light sweater and slacks. He nodded.

"Yeah," Cody said. "I'll… go play with Leon, now." Cody ran off.

Ms. McCloud then brought Hunter into the bathroom. "Now for you to get dry. Sorry, but the bandana needs to be cleaned, and your collar too." Gently, she removed both items. Hunter didn't react too much, except for a sigh-like growl that indicated resignment, and a drooped tail. "It's okay, you're safe here in the house." Leon's mother smiled, gently drying him off and combing his fur to make him look good as new. The dog nuzzled her softly after that.

DING DONG!

"A visitor in this weather?" Ms. McCloud said, stepping out of the room, leaving Hunter alone.

"...finally I can talk... Ugh... keeping this secret is so stressful, it makes me wanna-"

THUD. The sound of something falling to the ground outside startled the dog. Frightened, he jumped into the bathtub, and hid.

As Ms. McCloud fell to the floor, out cold, a young boy walked right in the door. He had light blue, fluffy hair, blue eyes, a black leather jacket, and dark grey jeans. He kicked his mother's unconscious body as he entered the house, and headed straight for the stairs.

"Sorry, mom, but I need to punish Leon for what he's done," the boy said. "Okay, now… Trap Card: Anti-Spell Fragrance."

A large cauldron with an evil face carved into it, full of crushed, boiling herbs, appeared in the living room, hot steam and a foul smell coming from it. "That should stop any wannabe rescuers from activating any Spells to get rid of the defenses I'm setting up."

Leon and Cody, hearing the intruder, ran into the bathroom with Hunter, hiding out together.

As it happened, this was their first mistake. The boy heard the sound of their running feet, and smirked. "You can't hide, Leon… are you really that much of an idiot, even after two years?" He walked up the stairs, and opened the first door on the left of the second floor hallway. Inside, Leon, Hunter, and Cody were all cowering inside the bathtub. "Hello Leon... You and I have some unfinished business," he said.

Leon, trying to be the brave one, spoke up. "And you are?"

The boy smirked. "You don't recognize me, Leon? I'm hurt," he said, faking a pout. "To think that you've forgotten all about your own twin brother Yukio in two years' time."

"YUKIO?! But... you... can't be..." Leon didn't recognize his brother at all. Where was the innocent smile he had possessed two years ago, when they were ten? Where were the bright eyes? All Leon could see was that horrible smirk and eyes dulled by anger and hatred.

"You don't recognize me, do you?" Yukio sighed, his smirk vanishing and being replaced by a dark expression. "Blame dad for being a lowlife who can't keep a job more than three days."

"Wha..? I don't understand…" Leon backed away from Yukio, but the blue-haired boy stepped forward.

"I don't care! Because when I kill you, your good life will be over forever!"

"I'm not fighting my family." Leon shook his head. "Not like this."

"Trying to be a pacifist, eh? Think again. Trap Card: Michizure."

Suddenly, the ground cracked open right under Cody and Hunter's feet. Screaming, they fell into the abyss, and were swallowed up.

"Cody! Hunter!" Leon gaped at the space where they had been, before turning his attention to Yukio again. "How could you hurt my friends like that!?"

"At least you HAVE friends. I have NOTHING! Now your friends are my prisoners." Yukio stomped on the ground with his foot. "Their lives hang in the balance of this confrontation, as does yours. You want them back? Duel me." He raised his left arm, and Leon could see that strapped to Yukio's arm was a Duel Disk that looked as though it were made of scrap metal, metal so sharp it looked as though it could hurt you by looking at it.

"Fine..." Leon had his Duel Disk on. It was lucky he was planning to duel Cody. "But let's get out of here first. This is no place for a Duel." He looked out the window.

Yukio caught on. "A Duel outside, huh? Sounds fine by me." Yukio then snapped his fingers, and to Leon's shock, the pelting rain outside began to dissipate, slowly clearing away, returning to the cloud free sky. "Unlike yours, my Duel Disk ain't waterproof. That's another downside of being dirt broke."

"How did you do that…?" Leon asked.

Yukio held up the Rain Storm card. "Who do you think made it rain in the FIRST place?"

"That was you!?"

Yukio snorted, annoyed. "Yeah, now can we Duel already so I can kill you once and for all?"

"IF you can beat me... but if I win, I want my friends, my dog, my mom, AND my little brother back." Leon said.

"Little brother?" Yukio asked. "What little brother? I'm not your brother any more. C'mon. We're Dueling."

"LEON!" Haru shouted, running over as Leon and Yukio came out of the house. "What's going on!?"

Yukio glanced at Haru and smirked. "Friend of yours, Leon?" he asked, laughing as Haru cringed at the word "friend". "Get out of my sight, big guy. Spell Card: Raigeki-"

"_Trap Card: Magic Jammer!" _

The image of the infamous Raigeki Spell Card, a powerful Spell that could destroy all Monsters on the opponent's field at once, appeared in front of Yukio, along with a yellow magic circle beneath him, but at the same time, a bright blue one appeared below Haru, and the card Magic Jammer, which was specifically designed to negate the effects of one Spell Card, materialized in front of him. The Raigeki card-image shattered into bits, and the yellow magic circle faded before anything could happen. For a second, Yukio looked shocked. "What the-?!"

"_Leon! Play one of your cards," _said an unfamiliar voice.

"Um... Hinotama?" Leon rifled through his deck and played Hinotama. Normally a card that would deal 500 points of direct damage to an opponent's life points, the card depicted a single fireball.

"_Let the card become real!" _

Just like how yellow and blue magic circles had appeared under Haru and Yukio, the same happened to Leon, but his was gold. Then, the card-image appeared in front of him, and the card shot out a FIREBALL at Yukio.

"WHAT THE?!" all three of the kids shouted in surprise. Yukio had to dive right out of the way of the enormous burst of flame, which impacted against the wall of the house but dissolved like a dream, leaving no mark that it had ever been there in the first place.

"_Good call! But try an Equip spell!"_

"Okay... OH! Cestus of Dagla!"

A weird, golden pair of weapons appeared in Leon's hands- punch daggers of some kind. Just holding them made Leon feel courageous.

"Whoa!" Haru gaped at the sight. "Ariel, what's going on?!"

"_Leon has a Partner helping him! We've begun a Spell Battle!" _Ariel's miniature form materialized on Haru's shoulder.

"A what!?"

"_A Spell Battle! You read Harry Potter, right? It's like a wizard's duel with Duel Monsters cards! Using the magic of Duel Spirits, and the hologram system of your human technology, opponents use their cards to battle in the same way as an online game!" _

"Oh… but, how do you win one?!" Haru shouted as Leon and Yukio's battle raged on. "Are these to the death or something!? We don't exactly have HP bars or anything in real life, ya know? Furthermore, how do you know what an online game is?"

"_These battles involve Life Points like regular Duels, and I've watched you play that game since you were about six. Now get in there and help Leon!" _

"Hmm..." Haru picked up his deck box from his pocket, and got out his side deck. His main deck didn't have many Spells or Traps that were primarily battle oriented, but he had several Equips and damage-dealers in his side deck. "Here's one… Spell Card: Steel Shell!"

The blue magic circle etched itself into existence below Haru, and suddenly, he was armed with a large, metal turtle shell. It seemed to be a shield of a sort, as it had a bar in the back which Haru could grab onto.

"So round one is armed combat? OKAY! Dragonic Attack!" Yukio played a new card, and from the yellow magic circle emerged a bright blue ghost in the shape of a dragon. It entwined around his arms, and he grinned. "Let's you and me fight."

**(Spell Battle- Round One)**

Almost immediately, Yukio was upon both Leon and Haru, attacking them mercilessly with his bare hands. He was unnervingly strong- even Haru, with his sturdy shield, was having trouble blocking the onslaught, because every blow made the shield vibrate with such ferocity that it would shake his whole body.

But Leon was fast dodging the attack. "Sorry Yukio." Leon gave Yukio a swift blow to the chest. The boy toppled backwards, but was on his feet again almost instantly.

"You won't beat me that easily! Spell Card: Black Whirlwind!" Yukio played another card.

"Trap Card: Magic Jammer!" Leon countered it almost instantly, before the dark, foul winds of Black Whirlwind could blow. As Yukio fumbled for another card, Leon looked in his pocket and found three cards. "Spell Card: Polymerization! Fuse Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Summoned Skull!"

A vortex appeared in front of him, and the two card-images that were summoned by the Spell Battle were sucked in.

"Black Skull Dragon! MOLTEN FIREBALL!"

From the vortex emerged the legendary Black Skull Dragon, a huge, fiendish dragon with eyes that glowed like embers. (ATK 3200). It gathered flame energy in its maw, and blasted Yukio full force with the attack.

**(Yukio: 8000 - 4800)**

"Spell Card! Ancient Rules, summon Dark Magician!" A new Spell Card appeared on the field, and the hooded, cloaked Spellcaster known by everyone who played the game emerged from it, brandishing his mint-colored staff. "Knight's Title! Dark Magician Knight! Attack!"

The Dark Magician transformed into a knight in purple armor, brandishing a sword, and flew forward, dodging Black Skull Dragon to hit Haru and destroy his Steel Shell. The blue-haired boy was knocked on his butt by the attack.

**(Haru: 4000- 1500)**

"What the? Only 4000 Life Points!?" Haru growled, looking at his Duel Disk's Life Point counter. "Why do I only have 4000, while he has 8000?"

"_You and Leon are a team, so your LP is split," _explained Ariel.

Haru groaned. "Darn it! Why do I always get the bad luck?"

Leon wasn't wasting time. He pulled the top card from his main deck. "Harvest Angel of Wisdom! Transfer Cestus of Dagla to him!"

The Cestus thing exploded in a flash of gold light, and reappeared in Haru's hands.

After that, a golden gate appeared. From it emerged a new Monster, replacing Black Skull Dragon, which faded from the field. It was a weird Fairy wearing cybernetic orange armor, wings on its legs. (ATK: 1800)

"_Haru, look at your disk for your personal Attack Points!"_ it shouted. Haru, surprised, looked down at his Duel Disk, to read in small blue numbers another 1500 right below the one denoting his Life Points.

"Fifteen hundred…?" Haru grimaced. "I'm… really weak."

"_Leon, your turn_," the Angel said. Leon checked to see 1500 as well. Since he wasn't equipped with the Cestus of Dagla, he recognized it as his original Attack score.

"_You two each give that kid a good punch, and I'll finish him off!" _

"Okay..." Leon looked at Yukio with anger in his eyes. "This... is for Hunter and Cody, and Mom!"

WHAM! Yukio was sent reeling.

**(Yukio: 4800 - 3300)**

Haru shook his head. "Leon, why don't we attack together? Boost your attack with another card and we can hit him with one more blow."

"Just hit him so I can get my little brother back!" Leon snapped. However, in his anger, he didn't notice Yukio playing another card.

"Spell Card: METEOR OF DESTRUCTION!"

BOOM! Leon was hit hard with an over amped version of Hinotama.

**(Leon: 4000 - 3000)**

Big mistake.

"...Spell Card: Megamorph."

Almost immediately, Leon doubled in size. He followed this up by playing Elf's Light. (ATK 1500 - 3000 - 3800)

"Give... me... back... MY... BROTHER!"

WHAM! Right in the stomach, HARD! Leon punched Yukio right in the belly, as hard as he could. No mercy, no holding back- Leon had used every ounce of his strength in order to defeat his brother.

Yukio was hit with the force of a truck barreling right into him. The punch was SO hard in fact, it knocked something OUT of Yukio. As Yukio was blown backwards, his Life Points totally depleted, a black shadow seemed to fall out of him and coalesce into a weird being sprawled upon the ground.

**(Yukio: 3300 - 0)**

**(BATTLE OVER)**

"Krebons?" Leon wondered. Indeed, it was the robotic, jester-like Psychic-Type that was bedecked in mathematical symbols.

"_He was the one that brought out Yukio's darkness, and made it consume the poor child," _said Harvest Angel of Wisdom.

"_Brought it out? Hah!" _sneered Krebons. "_All I did was nurture it a little, make sure it didn't disappear. Yukio's desire to kill Leon is all his own!"_

"That may be, but you had _no _right to stoke the fire," Leon said. "Yukio may have hated me, but you made it consume him."

"_And what if I did?" _The Psychic rolled his digital eyes. "_I was only bringing out how he really felt about you. You should've seen his diary even before I came around! Every entry was about how he wanted to buy a gun and shoot you!"_

"Okay, so I haven't been on his good side, but I plan on helping him! Now fulfill your promise, I want my Mom, Hunter, and Cody back _now_!"

Haru stared as Leon- kind, friendly Leon- _**STOMPED **_on Krebons's head, causing the Duel Spirit to screech in pain.

"_Okay, okay, fine! I'll free them, just let go of me! Ow ow ow!" _Krebons whined. A crack in the ground opened up, and Hunter and Cody, looking bedraggled and frightened, were vomited out. Hunter ran to Leon's side, and Cody ran back home, screaming for his mother. "_Your mom is in the foyer, knocked out! Now let gooooo!"_

"Oh, I'll let you go. Wisdom, he's all yours." Leon removed his foot from his head.

"_By the will of the Heavens, I seal this demon away in the deepest prison in the Sky Sanctuary!" _Harvest Angel of Wisdom rushed forth and seized Krebons by the neck. There was a flash of light, and then, they had vanished.

Leon looked at Yukio. "...maybe I should fix him up before talking to him… Trap Card: Solemn Wishes."

However, when he played the card, it had no effect.

"I'm still conscious, you know," Yukio said snidely. "Now that your Duel Spirit is gone, you can't cast any more cards."

"Oh... Yukio... Um... Do you honestly hate me that much?" Leon asked cautiously.

"Yes!" Yukio growled. "I hate you with all my heart! I've hated you ever since the divorce!" He struggled to his feet. "You don't know what it's like," he spat. "You don't know how hard it is to have to do all the housework by yourself while Dad sits and drinks beer until he falls into a drunken stupor. After the split-up, Dad got addicted to alcohol, and he drank so much that he brought his liquor to work."

"...Ouch…"

"Ouch doesn't even _begin _to describe it." Yukio's fists clenched. "You got lucky when Mom took you, Leon. You got all the nice clothes, the cool toys, everything you could possibly want. I was stuck with a deadbeat father who couldn't hold down a job for three days."

"...I can't ask you to just forgive me for all this... But maybe I can help you-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Leon was slapped across the face by Yukio. "Help me? HELP me!?" Yukio snarled. "I don't want your help! All I want is you dead and rotting in the ground!"

"YUKIO FLYNN MCCLOUD!" A familiar voice shouted from the house door.

Leon, Yukio, and Haru all went rigid. That could only mean one thing.

"M-mom?" Leon gulped.

Indeed, Ms. McCloud was up and about, walking out of the house. "What couldn't you just tell me how your father has been treating you?" she asked sternly, not even seeming to care that she had been knocked unconscious by her own son, or that Yukio wanted his older brother dead. "Remember my attorney, Mr. Bill?"

"The guy who made Dad go completely broke because he had to pay YOUR alimony?" Yukio said contemptuously. "I remember him perfectly well."

"He's the most kickbutt lawyer in-"

"He's the creep who ruined my life!" Yukio interrupted. "You sued Dad for alimony, and he had to pay every last cent that he owned! That stupid lawyer is why Dad is addicted to alcohol and out of a job!"

"Look, I can get you moved in with me, and I can help you turn your life around without having to do anyone in." Ms. McCloud held out a hand. "Is that okay with you, Yukio?"

Yukio fell silent. "...okay," he said grudgingly. "But I'm still jealous of Leon." He punctuated the last remark with a pointed glance at his brother. "You even have a _dog." _

"A service dog," Leon said. "He's not just for fun and games. I've had my own problems in the past."

At this point, Hunter decided to introduce himself to Yukio. The retriever bounded up to the younger boy and barked.

"He's... pretty friendly." Yukio said. "Hi there..." He gently petted Hunter. Hunter wagged his tail as Yukio's hand stroked his soft fur.

"Hi!" Hunter said.

Yukio's petting stopped, and his blue eyes went _wide._

"Did... the dog... just talk?"

"Uh…." Leon's eye twitched. "...It's… complicated. Why don't you come inside? Haru, you too."

Later, in the house...

"So... Lemme wrap my head around this..." Yukio said, "You don't know _how _Hunter gained the ability to talk... and you try to hide it from everyone?"

"I do _not _want anyone to know I talk," said Hunter. "The last time someone found out… wasn't good."

"I see... Hmm... Maybe you guys _do _have your own problems... maybe I was a _little _wrong." Yukio sighed. "It's just… it hurt, being alone without any way to dig myself out of that mess. It was _filthy _in there. I feel _unclean_." He shuddered.

"Yukio, you go get yourself cleaned up. I have some of your older clothes here, so you can get changed."

Yukio raised an eyebrow. "Mom, I've grown two feet."

"You're my size now?" asked Leon. Yukio nodded. "You can borrow some of my clothes, then."

"Thanks," the blue-haired boy said in a subdued tone. "...sorry I tried to hurt you."

"It's okay," Leon said gently. "You were angry and hurt. I don't blame you."

Haru, who had remained silent this whole time, blinked. "...Leon, this guy very nearly murdered you."

"...I know it's hard to forget, but I'm to blame for not trying to help him sooner," Leon said.

"..." Haru sighed. "Okay, but be cautious."

"Just who are you, anyway?" Yukio asked Haru.

"Haru Taylor. Leon's friend." Haru folded his arms.

Leon remembered something about Yukio. "Haru plays Super Smash Bros, Yukio. You like that game, right?"

"You're a Smasher too?!" Yukio asked excitedly, an excited twinkle coming into his eyes.

Haru scooted back from the space of floor where he was seated. "No, Leon's lying, I don't play Smash at all," he said quickly, eyes shifting from side to side.

"...Don't lie, Haru. Yukio is a really good player in Melee."

Haru laughed a very fake-sounding laugh. "Me? Smash? Perish the thought! Quit joking around, Leon- oh, hey, would ya look at the time, I gotta go, bye!" He got up, thanked Mrs. McCloud for having him over, and ran as fast as he could out of the house, back to his own home.

As soon as Haru was home, he slammed the door behind him and barricaded it with his own body, panting heavily. In his mind, memories began to bubble to the surface, playing on repeat…

_**Ice cold water, pitch black. Bubbles around him. He couldn't breathe, couldn't hear anything, could only just barely see the full moon spinning in the sky high above. Smiles turned into cruel smirks. Pain, so much pain, all over, the pain of bruises and cuts and scratches and a broken heart. "Hey, you like to play that game too? Let's play together." "Hey, why don't you want to come with us? Too scared after last time?" "Hey, you're really useless, aren't you? You should just die!" **_

_**He felt so tired. He just wanted to close his eyes and sleep. He was so cold, so tired. Sleep was so comforting. Sleep would block out the words, block out the cold, block out the moon.**_

_**A girl his age, pretty in her pale blue yukata and deep azure obi. Long black hair, gentle face. Smiling. "Let's be friends!"**_

...Haru screamed and ran for the couch, grabbing and wrapping himself in the soft light blue blanket draped over the faux leather. With trembling hands, he reached for the remote on the coffee table and turned the TV on to Channel 45, Haruka's dumb cartoons, big bro's favorite shows. Cranking up the volume as high as it would go, the Japanese boy huddled there, shivering, trying to watch _The Book of Life _and submerge his racing mind in the happy, romantic, Mexican-flavored musical. Haruka wasn't home. Haru hoped desperately that he would be home soon.

Haruka was out, getting groceries for the week. There was a lot to buy, since they had used up the last of their things making Nicky's minestrone. As such, the time had flown by, and soon, it was already about 7:00 PM. He had just driven onto Inari Street, about three blocks from home. However, something was nagging at his mind.

"Is Haru okay?" he wondered aloud as he looked out upon the sunset-lit streets of Echo Town.

"_Why so worried?" _a voice in his head said. Haruka dismissed it as his conscience, and thought nothing of it at first. "_Scuse me... are you a Duelist?"_

"Who's there?" asked Haruka. His eyes snapped to the rear view mirror for an instant, and he shivered when he saw nobody in the backseat.

"The passenger seat. You should be able to see me now that you hear me."

Haruka, without turning his head, looked at the passenger seat out of the corner of his eye, and was shocked by the appearance of a small creature floating above it in midair. "What the-!? What are you?"

It was a pegasus with blue fur, with fire for its wings and mane. "_I'm Firewing Pegasus- nice to meet you!" _it chirped. "_You picked me up from the card pack you bought at the store."_

Haruka recalled that once he had finished buying all the groceries, he had purchased himself a small Duel Monsters card pack.

"_If it's okay, I'd like to be your Partner..." _Firewing said.

"Partner?"

"_Oh... you don't know?" _The Spirit sighed, and then explained the basics. "_I'm here to be your friend and guide, Haruka. I'll protect you from evil Duel Spirits and at the same time accompany you on your journey through life."_

"Basically a friend for life?" Haruka asked. The Pegasus nodded. "I accept your offer." As he stopped at a red light, he proceeded to pet Firewing… or at least try to. His hands passed through the Pegasus.

"_I'm a Duel Spirit, Haruka… you can't exactly touch me," _Firewing said.

"I see..."

"_But I will be here to help you in any way I can."_

__"Thanks." Haruka smiled, and returned to driving as the traffic light turned green.

When Haruka returned, he was surprised to see Haru through the window, still wrapped in his blanket, now watching _Big Hero 6_. Judging by the stack of DVDs next to him on the couch, Haru was having a movie marathon.

Unless he was extremely upset, Haru very rarely, if ever, had movie marathons.

Haruka's car pulled into the garage, and as soon as he was able to, the older brother entered the house with the groceries.

"Oh... hey, big brother... where did yooooooooooooouaaaaaaAAAAAHHH!" Haru's monotone sentence turned into a shriek as he saw Firewing float in behind Haruka. "PARASITE! ARIEL! HELP!"

"_Parasite…?" _Ariel made her entrance, and stared at Firewing before falling over herself laughing. "_Haru, that's no Parasite, that's a Partner!" _Ariel said. "_One of the sweetest, most kind and trustworthy Partners in the city."_

"Partner..? You sure?" Haru asked.

"_Yep, Firewing Pegasus is a gentle spirit, all he cares about is the well-being of humans."_

"Oh." Haru nodded slowly. "Alright..."

"_You must be Haru, Haruka's kid brother... funny... he looks more teen than kid to me," _Firewing said.

"I'm twelve."

"_I see... and I see you have your own Partner."_

"_Yup," _Ariel said.

"_So... you both have Partners," _Firewing said, turning to the humans. "_Guess that means you both have friends for life."_

Haru cringed and covered his ears...

_**Black water, full moon, that smile…**_

"_...Haru? You okay?"_ Ariel waved her hand in front of Haru's face. "_What's wrong?"_

"_I sense turmoil in his mind and heart." _Firewing said.

"You're not helping," Haruka growled. He tried to bat the Duel Spirits away, and held onto Haru's shoulder. "Haru, it's okay. That time is over. I'm sorry my new friend said that. It'll be alright, okay?"

Haru slowly calmed down. "Big bro…" he said, voice fragile, like a little kid's. "Can we… watch movies together?"

"Sure."

"_Let's leave these two alone for now." _Firewing suggested.

"_Right."_ Ariel nodded, and the two Duel Spirits returned to their cards.

"And this is your new room," Ms. McCloud said, opening the door to what used to be the guest room. Yukio entered slowly, and nodded his thanks.

"Thank you, mom… I'm sorry about what I did.."

"Again, as long as you promise never to do it again, I can put it behind me. Alright, sweetie? You didn't hurt anyone too bad, and everyone turned out okay." The mother hugged her son gently. "You rest up now."

"Thanks mom... and tell Leon I said thanks for letting me borrow his clothes." Yukio looked at the outfit he now wore. It was a blue sleeveless and slacks, and arm warmers for his arms.

"I will." His mother left the room, and Yukio sat down on the old, but still comfortable, bed.

Ms. McCloud closed the door, pulled out her phone, and dialed a number.

Meanwhile, in Leon's room.

"So... You're my Duel Spirit Partner, right?" Leon asked the miniature Harvest Angel of Wisdom that was hovering in front of him.

The Fairy nodded. "_That is correct. Now that Krebons has been exorcised from Yukio, he no longer has a Partner or a Parasite."_

"But for him to be protected from other Parasites, he needs a Partner?"

"_Correct again. Yukio is still vulnerable, but he cannot simply acquire a Partner. He and his Partner need to meet in their own time."_

"So... We protect him till he's Partnered up?"

"_He can protect himself,"_ Harvest Angel of Wisdom said. "_Due to having come into contact with Duel Spirits, he can engage in Spell Battles like the one you had with him."_

"Okay. Well... thank you for helping me... We're gonna make a great team." Leon smiled.

The Fairy smiled back. "_I'm glad to hear that."_


	3. Chapter 3, More Amusement than Hoped

"Another extension on the business trip?!" Haru could barely believe what he was hearing. He was talking to his parents, who were business people. More often than not, both of them were on business trips in Japan, the country of Haru's birth, which necessitated Haruka taking care of the both of them.

"**Sorry, son, but it's true… but we promise, next month, we're coming home for certain, and you'll see us again."**

"Please don't break that promise... I need help... people wanna be my friends," Haru pleaded.

His father Fuyuki, the man on the other end of the line, went rigid. "**What?"**

"People are asking to be my friends."

"**Oh dear…" **Fuyuki gulped. "Have you been having…?"

"Yes," Haru said. "Memories and panic attacks."

"**Again? Oh, Haru... You need to talk to your therapist as soon as possible."**

Haru laughed bitterly. "No. I'm not going to therapy. There's no way. I can't do it," he said. "This is the first time in a year I've had a panic attack. I can't let the therapist down by telling him I had another."

"**I see... well, hang in there for another month. Okay, pal?"**

"I will. See you soon, Papa…"

"**Love you, Haru," **the dad said.

"You too, Papa."

Haru hung up, feeling very sad... until...

RRRRRRING! The phone rang again. "Wha?" Haru blinked and picked the phone back up. "Uh, hello?"

"**Hi Haru, it's Cyrus."**

"Cyrus? How did you get my number?" Haru asked warily.

"**From Leon. Anyway... I was wondering... would you and Haruka like to join me, Leon, Hunter, and maybe one or two of my friends... for a trip to Kaibaland tomorrow?"**

Kaibaland. The most popular amusement park on the West Coast… except for Disneyland. (Nothing can defeat Disneyland. NOTHING.) Haru had never been there, and it was practically a myth to him. Haru considered his options. On one hand, there would be a huge crowd, as per usual, and crowds were loud, annoying, and tended to make youlost. On the other… _Kaibaland_.

"Um... if I come... can I bring earmuffs to block out most of the loudness of the crowds?" Haru asked.

"**Earmuffs, headphones, whatever you want. I know you aren't good with crowds."**

"Thanks. Me and Haruka are in…" Then, a thought struck Haru. "Hey... is Yukio coming?"

"**Yeah, Leon wanted to bring him to help him open up again."**

The idea made Haru shudder. "I hope Yukio doesn't try anything creepy."

"**He'll be fine. So I'll see you at 11:00? Plaza parking lot?"**

"Right," Haru confirmed. "See you tomorrow."

"**OKAY!" **Cyrus hung up.

"Who was that?" Haruka asked, coming over.

"Cyrus. We have a date with Kaibaland tomorrow."

"_Kaibaland?" _Firewing asked, popping in.

"KAIBALAND?!"

If Haruka's face could be described in one emoticon, it would be this:

**:D**

"_I feel dumb for asking but... what's Kaibaland?" _Firewing asked.

"It's a big amusement park," Haru said dismissively.

"A big amusement park!?" Haruka exclaimed. "It's so much more than that! It's the biggest, best amusement park on the face of the planet! Not even Dis-"

"If you know what's good for you," Haru interrupted, "you'll stop right there."

"Anyway... it's all Duel Monsters themed. Oh, and they've got a ride themed after you Firewing!"

"_Really?" _Firewing asked. "_I wanna see that!"_

"They do?" Haru was surprised.

"Yeah, it's the Flying High with Firewing. Kinda like the Dumbo ride at Disney."

"...touche," Haru said. He shrugged. "Well, I'm just gonna enjoy today. Oh, and, uh… Papa called."

"And?" Haruka asked.

"They're staying in Adawa for another month."

"Isn't that in Canada?" Haruka asked.

"That's Ottawa, Haruka. Adawa is in Japan. Mie Prefecture."

"_Well, fun day tomorrow. Dinner and bed?"_

"Dinner and bed," decided Haruka, traipsing off to the kitchen to make himself and his younger brother some grilled cheese sandwiches.

Elsewhere...

"YES! Carnotus! Finish him!"

A huge, hulking warrior in dark grey armor bedecked with teeth and spines roared in fury. He raised a spear that crackled with lightning and rushed forward, towards the Big Shield Gardna that was standing in Attack Position, defenseless.

CRASH!

The defending Duel Monster shattered into pieces, and a boy in a baseball cap moaned in disappointment as his Life Points were depleted.

**(?: 700 - 0)**

"HA! I win!" his opponent, a girl in a jacket and sweatpants, cheered. "The Dino-Striker please, my good man."

The boy handed her a card. "As promised…."

The girl accepted the card, then offered the boy a hand up. "Thanks to you, I have a complete Dino-Striker deck," she said with an affected air of haughtiness. "Thank you very much!"

"Whatevs," the boy said. "What's with your dino obsession anyway, sis? You collect dino movies, cards, books…. heck, you're cuddling a Tartarus plushie right now."

"It's called _Carnotaurus_," she said, hugging said plushie. "Not _Tartarus. _Jeez."

The boy rolled his eyes. "You've been flipping out about dinosaurs for a week now. What happened?"

She sighed. "It's called being fascinated by something. So leave me be! I won fair and square!" She stroked the plushie on instinct and slid her other hand into her pocket, where the card she had won lay.

Although neither boy nor girl could see it, around the girl were the forms of several frightening-looking warriors, all bedecked in armor with fangs and scales and armed to the teeth. And yet, they were looking gently upon the girl, smiling.

These were her Partners, who watched over her and made sure she was kept safe. They seemed satisfied that she had won the Duel. They even wanted to look at her newly acquired card. One spoke. "She will surely be in good hands. I, for one, will not let her down."

The rest voiced their agreement, and blinked out of existence, returning to the cards that they were kept in.

The hours flew by, and soon, it was time for the day at Kaibaland for Haru as he groggily awoke and began his usual morning routine. He wondered if he should take anything outside of his Deck and possibly his wallet for buying things. As he showered and got dressed, deciding to opt for a light green polo shirt and slacks for the occasion, Ariel appeared on his shoulder.

"_So," _she said. "_Kaibaland. Sounds fun, eh? Can't be worse than the boring stuff you do here."_

Haru shrugged and looked at her. "It's alright. I guess I'm just not sure about the crowds. After… the panic attacks… I'm not too sure I want to go through even more trouble than what it's worth. But… I'm willing to go there, for my…" His voice caught slightly. "...f-friend," he managed to choke out. "Leon, I mean. He loves Kaibaland. You should hear him rant about it."

He was soon dressed and headed downstairs to make himself some breakfast from what he could find. On his way down he saw Haruka doing his morning exercise stretches and wondered why, again, his brother kept that up. Haruka's high school career had been marked primarily by his athletic achievements, and even though he was not in college yet due to having to take care of Haru, he still fantasized about being a boxer on the Echo Town Academy team. Maybe it was because he wasn't an athlete in any sense of the word, but Haru just didn't understand why Haruka was so hung-up about his sports.

"Bro, do you want me to make you some breakfast while I'm in the kitchen?" Haru asked somewhat shyly, trying to be a kind brother.

"Hmm?" Haruka looked over to Haru from where he was exercising in the patio. "Sure, that'd be great. Waffles please!" Haru nodded and went down to the kitchen to make them some waffles, looking for the best combination he could think of to put on the waffles for breakfast.

Eventually, Haruka finished with his exercises, and entered the kitchen, to see two plates of warm, crispy waffles, rather clumsily piled with strawberries and sparse sprays of whipped cream. The kitchen counter was covered in whipped cream and strawberry juice, as was the floor.

Haruka scratched his head as he stared at the mess his brother had made, a bit unsure what to say. It was good that Haru had tried, but… there was so much mess here now, and it seemed more like the clumsy effort of a young kid than something Haruka was used to.

Haru, who was cleaning his mess up, saw his brother's expression, and bit his lip. "Um… enjoy," he said unsurely.

Haruka sat down and taste-tested the waffles in an awkward manner and found, to his surprise, that it tasted relatively good. Not brilliant, like their mother made, but Haru had certainly tried. Haruka ended up finishing off the whole plate with a smile on his face. "Thanks, bro. I needed that," he congratulated.

Haru let a weak smile grace his face, and finished up the cleaning before going to eat as well. "I'm really glad you like them. This is my first time…"

"_Is he just saying that to make you happy? Just checking… no, wait, he's actually happy! Well, whaddaya know! Haru, you should have breakfast yourself, before you fade away!" _Ariel, appearing by Haru's shoulder, was laughing at the awkward encounter between the two brothers.

Haru's smile warped into a frown as he saw the diminutive Spellcaster. Ignoring her, he dug into his food as well.

Ariel hovered around the front door, eager to see when Leon was coming over. "_So I guess they're coming to pick you up, right? I can't wait to see this amusement park._"

Haruka nodded. "Pretty much, yeah. They should be here around ten thirty." He checked his watch, and saw that it was ten fifteen. "_Shimatta_! I need to be ready- I'm still in my pajamas! Ariel, why didn't you or Firewing tell me what time it was?"

Ariel rolled her eyes. "_What am I, your babysitter? Sorrrrrry!_" she said snidely. Haru groaned as Haruka rushed off to his room, freaking out all the way.

"Where is Firewing, anywho?" Haru asked.

"_Sleeping. He's a heavy sleeper." _

Roughly fifteen minutes later, a red SUV drove up to the Taylor residence.

Cyrus came out the side car. "Okay, I'll go see if they're ready!" he said, before running to the door.

"Presents?" Haru asked, tying his shoelaces.

"Check," Haruka said, giving his brown hair a quick combover..

"Cake?"

"Check. Earmuffs?" Haruka asked.

Haru nodded, holding up a pair of headphones and an MP3 player. "This'll do."

"Okay, we're good to go," Haruka said.

Knock! Knock! Knock! A series of thumps on the door signalled Cyrus's arrival, and Haru went to get it.

"Hiya, Haru!" Cyrus said cheerfully. His blond hair, usually messy, had been neatly combed for the day, and he was wearing a clear plastic locket around his neck, the kind people sometimes stored Duel Monsters cards in if they had sentimental value. There seemed to be one in there now, judging by the card back inside it.

"Hey," Haru said. "Haruka and I got you some presents." He held up a bag.

"Oh, thank you!" Cyrus's eyes lit up as he accepted the gifts. "Can I look now, or should I wait until the day's done?"

"More like lunchtime," Haruka said, "So who's in attendance for today?"

"Well, you two, Leon, Yukio, Hunter, and my friend Justin. Oh, and my mom!"

Haru raised an eyebrow. Cyrus's mother Erika was a movie star who was currently being known for her upcoming role as the lead actress in _River of Lost Souls_, an adaptation of a Japanese horror flick from 2055. With the kind of workload movie stars had, he didn't expect her to be coming along

"She requested the day off. It worked out because everyone needed a day of rest, so they decided to make today a break day!" Cyrus's smile was so big that Haru dropped the subject, instead telling Haruka to hurry up.

An hour's drive later, the SUV went over a hill, and was graced by the sight of the parking garage. It was the usual dingy and dark garage, but in the distance, the motley crew could see Kaibaland in all its glory.

"Whoa... they just finished the expansion!" Haruka said, looking at a sign as they drove into the parking lot and parked. The map of the place had been drastically expanded, to include many new attractions and rides.

"Oh boy..." Haru said.

"C'mon, Haru. It's gonna be fun. Mom got us Blue Eyes Passes a while ago, did you know?" Haruka dug into his wallet and showed his little brother a pair of tickets with the image of the mythical Blue-Eyes White Dragon emblazoned on them. "It's like the DisneyLand Fast Passes."

"...Wow... talk about pulling out all the stops." Haru said.

"Mhm!" Leon, who was sitting next to Haru, said cheerfully.

"Well kids, let's get going." Erika said, "the park's waiting."

"Yeah!" Leon unbuckled his seatbelt, and got out of the car as fast as possible.

Their day at Kaibaland actually started out well. It was a mild day, perfect for just being out and about, and the lively, happy air of Kaibaland's many guests was uplifting even to Haru.

Throughout the day, played games, enjoyed attractions, and rode rides, eventually coming to the new section, Jurassic Valley. Unusually enough, the dinosaur-themed area of the park also seemed to mix in a Wild West theme. It was filled to the brim with shooting galleries, minecart rides, an Old West-style tavern (that served nonalcoholic drinks, of course), and several roller coasters, one of which, to Haru's derision, seemed to depict an epic battle between a pack of Jurrac Monsters and a gang of cattle rustlers. In the middle of the area was a huge statue carved in the likeness of a tyrannosaur.

A cowboy dressed employee greeted the kids as they entered. "You kids like to be part of a special event here in the valley?"

"What kind of event?" Cyrus asked.

"Basically, we got someone playing an outlaw wanting to rob the valley town, and three heroes, played by Duelists who volunteer, stand against her, and the battle can go either way, with a prize for the winning side." The employee smiled. "Sound fun?"

"Yeah!" Cyrus said. "I wanna do it!"

"Me too, sounds fascinating!" Justin agreed, standing by Cyrus' side for support and also holding a flag with the Kaibaland logo on it.

Haru was about to shake his head no and thank the employee for the offer, when Leon grabbed his arm and raised it high above his head. "_Aré-_!? Leon, what the-!?"

"Come on, this could be a chance for you to get a little confidence."

"I- But- I-" Haru spluttered, before hanging his head. "Okay, I'll do it…"

"Your names please?" The employee asked.

"Cyrus Strong!" Cyrus chirped, beaming. Secretly, his mother snapped a photograph of his adorable smile.

"Haru Taylor..." Haru mumbled, somewhat shyly.

"Justin Harvey!" Justin announced after Haru, louder than the blue-haired teen had spoken.

"Okay you three, follow me to the wardrobe. The rest of you can get a good seat for the show around the T-rex statue." The man said.

"Wait, wardrobe?" Haru asked as he was led off.

The others waited by the statue, curious to see this show.

"Think we'll get a Duel in this show?" Leon asked.

"Doubt it," said Yukio. "We're not the volunteers."

"True, but I wonder if the volunteers end up Dueling," Leon said.

Yukio groaned and smacked himself in the forehead. "Leon, the employee specifically asked for Duelists to volunteer. You're denser than a rock in a swimming pool, I swear."

"Sorry." Leon said… just as a rainbow glow around their feet indicated the forming of a holographic field around the town, like in Haru's duel with Chase. "Oooh… showtime."

All was peaceful. All was quiet. The citizens of Jurassic Valley were minding their own business, going about their daily doings with nary a hiccough in the proceedings…

...at least until a Black Tyranno appeared.

With a load roar, it began thrashing about. Several people began to panic, as a girl in a cowgirl outfit came up beside the monster. "Well, well, well. Another town, with plenty of people to rob! Black Tyranno, go wild!"

The Dinosaur roared again and began rampaging through the place, knocking people all over the town and crashing into all manner of things. Men ran. Women hid. Children screamed. It seemed like the end of the world for Jurassic Valley.

But then...

"Zielgigas, attack!"

"Stardust Dragon, Cosmic Flare!"

"Sword Hunter, Final Slash!"

Three powerful beings appeared nearby and started to attack the dinosaur, stopping it in its tracks. It roared, stumbling backwards and obviously wounded and cranky, and snarled at the newcomers, before vanishing into pixels and kicking up a storm of dust as it did.

"Who dares to get in our way?!" the girl said.

As the dust settled, three more people appeared. It was Cyrus, Justin, and Haru, dressed like classic good guy cowboys.

"This ain't no lawless town, little lassie," Cyrus said, pulling off a Texan accent surprisingly well.

Justin pulled out his deck of cards to prepare for battle. "Oh we know that! And we're ready! So bring it on! We've made our move, now make yours!" He yelled.

"You've, uh, got two choices. Surrender or run," Haru said unsurely. He fidgeted with the Stetson hat he was wearing.

"This is not your thing, my friend," Cyrus sighed.

"Really now? As if! No one can stop Six-Shootin' Sarah!" the girl boasted.

She pulled out another card and prepared to Duel. "Now, are ya gonna back off quietly, or should I get out the BIGGER guns?" she threatened, smirking at the boys.

"How 'bout we settle this the ol' fashioned way?" Cyrus readied his Duel Disk.

"A Duel? Well, mister, I'll gladly oblige ya." Sarah's smirk became a shark-toothed grin, and she activated her Duel Disk as well. "But don't come cryin' ta me when ya get smashed six feet under!"

**(Cyrus: 8000, Sarah: 8000)**

"Ladies first!" Sarah drew. "I summon Dino-Striker Euceph in Attack Position!"

Justin and Haru, watching on the sidelines, looked at one another unsurely.

"Dino-Striker?" Justin asked. Haru just shrugged.

Instead of the usual gate that appeared whenever a Monster emerged onto the field, a totem pole grew out of the ground. As the middle piece of the pole glowed, what looked like the ghostly image of a Euoplocephalus came trotting onto the field. It glowed brightly for a moment, before transforming into the shape of a tall, stocky, dark-skinned man wearing heavy armor and carrying a spiked shield. **(ATK 1000)**

"As long as Euceph is on the field, every End Phase, he gains 100 Attack Points. Now, I end with three face-downs." Three face-down cards materialized behind Euceph, who grinned darkly at Cyrus and beat his fist upon his shield. **(ATK 1000 - 1100)** "Your move, runt."

"Alright!" Cyrus drew a card, and grinned. "I place three cards face-down and activate a Spell Card: Swords of Revealing Light!"

Sarah's eyes widened as four cards appeared in front of Cyrus: three face-down, parallel to the ground, and one face-up, its text and image clear for all to see. Swords of Revealing Light was a very old card, and had withstood the test of time quite well. The Spell glowed with green light, and then, a rain of swords, composed of the same green light, came crashing down from the heavens, imprisoning Sarah and Euceph inside an unbreakable barrier. "Now, you can't attack me for three turns!" Cyrus said. "Next comes Card of Consonance. By discarding a Dragon-Type Tuner Monster with 1000 or less Attack, I get to draw two cards!"

Cyrus discarded Dragunity Brandistock, and drew two cards. "Now I summon Dragunity Dux!" A large, silvery figure appeared from the next card, with bulging muscles and immense wingspan, it held a wand of some kind in one hand and readied a fist in the other for battle. It resembled an assassin somewhat but with chain armor and silver clothing and a golden tunic. **(ATK 1500)**

"Now with his summon, I can equip Brandistock to him from the Graveyard."

A new card appeared on the field- a weird-looking, ugly dragon with one big horn in the center of its forehead, wearing silvery-blue armor. Dux hopped up onto its back.

"Now for the fun. Dux gains 100 ATK for each Dragunity on the field, and Brandistock lets Dux attack twice."

Dux readied himself, gripping his wand tightly. (ATK 1500 - 1700)

"Now…. attack Euceph!"

"I activate my Trap Card, Draining Shield!" Sarah gestured, and her first face-down card lifted up. Brandistock flew forward, as did Dux atop it, but before they could reach Euceph, a wall of golden energy surrounded Sarah's side of the field, and they rammed right into it. Sarah laughed as her Life Points increased due to the card's effect. **(Sarah: 8000 - 9700)**

"Nice try, but Draining Shield only stops ONE attack." Cyrus said, as his monster got back up for another attack.

"Oh no..." Sarah hollered in fright as Dux and Brandistock RAMMED right through Euceph, blowing the saurian warrior to bits. **(Sarah: 9700 - 9100)**

"I end," Cyrus said. "Your turn, outlaw!"

"So be it." Sarah drew a card and smirked. "Ooh, now you're in for it. I play Dino-Striker Carnotus!"

Another totem pole appeared on the field, and it released the spirit of a large theropod of some kind, which turned into a tall and lean warrior wearing thinner armor than Euceph, but wielding a much more effective weapon: a pair of scythe-like blades. **(ATK 1900)**

"Next, I play a face down, Silent Doom! Return to the field, Euceph!"

The second of Sarah's face-down cards flipped up, and Euceph reappeared, kneeling down and holding his shield in front of him in Defense Position. **(DEF 2000)**

"Now for Carnotus's ability. If a Dino-Striker is Special Summoned during my turn, he can destroy one card- any card- on the field, but only once per turn." Sarah smirked as Carnotus let out a shout of fury, before grabbing onto the Swords of Revealing Light and smashing one with his blade. It shattered into pieces, and the rest followed.

"Now, Carno-"

"_WAIT! DON'T ATTACK!" _A voice said to Sarah.

"_Carnotus? What's the matter?" _

"_He still has three face-downs. You should hold off on attacking for now."_

Sarah considered this, before sighing. "Never mind. Your turn."

"Okay... I draw... What to do... I activate the trap, Gravity Bind."

A weird blue grid appeared on the field, and all of the Monsters on it seemed magnetized to the ground. Carnotus and Euceph looked dismayed at the idea, and Dux seemed disappointed by the fact that Brandistock was now ground-bound.

"That'll keep you at bay. Turn end."

Sarah growled. "Why you…"

"Losing your cool?" taunted Cyrus. "C'mon, your move."

Sarah drew. "I Summon Dino-Striker Styracor!"

Instead of a totem, the monster decided to make his entrance in a more direct manner. A fist punched up through the ground, and was followed by the rest of the Dino-Striker, whose armor featured an impressive helmet covered in horns. **(ATK 1600)**

"And now, because there are three Dino-Strikers on my field, I can special summon Futabus directly from my hand!"

The next Striker decided not to make a dramatic entrance, instead simply tottering onto the field. It was an old, old man, with a long scarf around his neck that trailed to the floor. **(ATK 100)**

"And because I Special Summoned, Carnotus can stomp out your Gravity Bind!"

Carnotus stamped his foot, and the blue grid exploded out of existence.

"Now, because I used Futabus's own ability to summon him, I'm allowed one draw. And due to Styracor's effect, you can only attack him." Sarah drew a card. "Awesome... I play the Field Spell Jurassic World."

The Wild West-esque setting of Jurassic Valley faded out and was replaced with something new: a huge, sprawling rainforest full of foliage that probably hadn't been seen outside of holograms and movies in millions of years.

"Now, all Dinosaurs get 300 Attack Points." The four Dino-Strikers let out a series of whoops and hollers as they celebrated by pounding their weapons furiously in a rhythmic chant, save for Futabus, who had none.

**(Carnotus: 1900 - 2200)**

**(Euceph: 1100 - 1400)**

**(Futabus: 100 - 400)**

**(Styracor: 1600 - 1900)**

"But since I'm not a heartless cowgirl, I'll give you one turn to try to make a comeback- try being the operative word." Sarah chuckled. "Just try."

Cyrus drew, and smiled.

"I play face-down two, Lightning Vortex!" He discarded another Brandistock to activate the Spell, and the sky grew dark, blue-white lightning crackling through the clouds…

CRASH!

The lightning struck the four dinosaurs, exploding them into pixels.

Sarah gaped. Her monsters were gone. Her face-down, Polymerization, was useless. She was a sitting duck for Cyrus.

"Awright!" Justin, sitting on the sidelines, cheered. "Go get 'em, Cyrus!"

Haru said nothing, merely regarding the scene with approval.

"Next, another Dux, and for him, another Brandistock from the Graveyard!"

A second copy of both Dux and Brandistock rose from the Grave. **(ATK 1900)**

"Final facedown, and final card from hand…. Banner of Courage and Rising Air Current!"

A red and blue banner rose on Cyrus's side of the field, raising the attack of both Duxes by 200 points. **(ATK 1900 - 2100) **This, in turn, was followed by Rising Air Current, a Field Spell that blasted Jurassic World to pieces and replaced it with the familiar scenery of the theme park, although an alarmingly strong wind was blowing now. This Field Spell raised the Attack of the Dragunity Monsters by 500 more points, at the cost of 400 Defense each. **(ATK 2100 - 2600, DEF 1000 - 600)**

All four of the Dragunities on the field leered at Sarah, who began to sweat. Her perfect strategy, blown to pieces in an instant… by a little kid! She could barely comprehend it. She stared at Cyrus's full field and her empty one, as though she couldn't believe the sight that was right in front of her. But she WASN'T angry or upset... in fact, she was smiling. Sarah had been undefeated for a while, and the more she won, the less fun Dueling became. But now, she was about to LOSE for once. Which meant that Cyrus was a duelist equal to, if not better than her in skill and brains.

"Nice, someone that has dueling skill. This is a lot more fun." Sarah smiled.

"Glad you think so!" Cyrus beamed right back. "Now, both my Duxes.. attack directly!"

With four swift, deadly strikes, the Duxes and Brandistocks delivered the coup de grace, knocking Sarah over onto her butt, and totally depleting her Life Points.

**(Sarah: 9100 - 0)**

"The town is safe from you, ya varmint!" Cyrus said, cowboy style.

"_WAY TO GO, CYRUS!" _two high-pitched, playful sounding voices cheered. At the sound of the voices, Haru, who had been quietly observing the Duel from afar (and hiding from the virtual Black Tyranno), perked up. Neither of them sounded familiar at all, and apparently, nobody else had noticed them save for Cyrus, who was looking around in confusion…

...which could only mean one thing.

"_Behind you, Cy-Cy!" _one voice said.

Cyrus turned around as the holofield for the Duel deactivated, and saw, to his shock, two miniature Duel Monsters, floating in midair behind him. It was Baby Dragon and Petit Dragon, two of the most famous Dragon-Type monsters in the game. At the sight, Cyrus's mouth dropped open. Immediately, he grabbed the locket that dangled around his neck and opened it, to reveal the selfsame cards that depicted the Monsters he was seeing. "You're- but, but how?" he spluttered incoherently.

"_We're your Partners!"_ Petit Dragon said happily.

"_**I knew it!"**_ thought Haru. "_**Come to think of it, where's Ariel?"**_

"_We've treasured our cards ever since your father died last year, so now, we can help you as your partners."_

"I don't understand."

"_We'll explain later, don't you worry." _The two returned to their cards, just as Sarah got up.

"Nice Duelin', Tex," she congratulated. She came over to Cyrus, and held out her right hand for a shake.

"Thanks," Cyrus replied, shaking her hand.

"Now that the event's over, we can be buddies," Sarah said conversationally. "You're really good, you know that? Oh, and by the way, who're your friends over there?" She pointed at Justin and Haru.

"That's Haru with the blue hair- he's not the best with making friends, just a heads-up- and that's Justin with blond." Cyrus smiled. "Wanna hang out with us today? It's my tenth birthday!"

"I'd be glad to oblige," said Sarah. She smiled at Cyrus as well, and the two walked over to the statue where everyone else had been watching.

"Haru," Leon said, walking up to Haru, "did you happen to see anything strange happen to Cy?"

Haru nodded seriously. "He has not one, but _two _Partners."

"So you saw them too?"

"I've been seeing Ariel for about a week now, so yeah. Not sure why Cyrus's partners decided to show up now instead of earlier, though." Haru shrugged and took his deck out of his Duel Disk, rifling through it. "It's kinda weird… I have three copies of Ariel's card in my deck, and since I left the house, she hasn't shown up even once. She can teleport to wherever her card is in a heartbeat, usually to annoy me."

"Maybe she and Wisdom need to rest and recharge after that Spell Battle," Leon theorized.

Haru shrugged. "Maybe. Duel Spirits are weird."

"If you think two partners is weird... look at Sarah..." Leon's expression had changed to a wide-eyed, mouth-open one that would look more at home on a goldfish as he stared at Sarah. Haru followed Leon's line of sight to the girl, and his own expression changed to match Leon's.

All around Sarah were the Duel Spirits of the Dino-Striker cards.

"...how many are in the Dino-Striker archetype?" Haru asked. It was hard to count how many there were, due to them all being clustered around their wielder.

"I wouldn't know, I've never heard of them," Leon replied.

"Some people call them the 'smart dinos' because they're not the usual beatdown strategy," Haru explained. "I read about it in a magazine once."

"Really? Sounds neat."

"Yeah, the designers are trying to go against the stereotypical strategies, according to that same magazine," Haru added.

"_Magazine? Where?"_

Haru yelped and doubled back as he saw Ariel pop into the air right in front of his face. "A-Ariel!? Where were you!?"

"_Sleeping," _Ariel said.

"Ah." Haru raised an eyebrow. "And you seemed so excited to go to Kaibaland."

"_Overslept," _Ariel said.

"Anyway, looks like Cyrus has the power as well," Haru said.

Ariel perked up. "_Really?_" she asked. She stared at Cyrus, who was animatedly talking to Sarah about Dueling. "_That pipsqueak?"_

"Yes," Leon said, "but he's not a pipsqueak."

Ariel rolled her eyes. "_Cyrus is the pipsqueakiest pipsqueak who ever pipsqueaked."_

"...moving on," Leon said, not wanting to make a scene. "Let's play some more, eh Haru?"

"Sure… I'd like to go see the main area, with all the movies and stuff," Haru said.

"Okay, I'll let the others know." Leon said.

Later, it was close to dinner time, and the group was together at the best restaurant in Kaibaland, with Cyrus Eager to open his gifts, since they forgot to do it at lunch.

"Open mine first! Mine first!" Leon urged.

"No, mine!" Justin argued.

"Let him open them in the order he wants," Erika said gently, fending Leon and Justin off.

"Yes ma'am," Both said.

Cyrus looked at the gifts, "How about... Yukio's first?"

Yukio perked up. "Mine?" he asked tentatively. "You sure?"

"Sure, I figured you deserved to be first." Cyrus picked up the package that Yukio had gift-wrapped, and tore open the paper to find a little wooden box. "Oh?" Opening it, his eyes widened as he saw what was within: a little wooden sculpture, carved to resemble a coiled-up Eastern dragon, fast asleep. "Wow! This is beautiful! Where'd you get it?"

"I made it myself," Yukio said, blushing. "I've gotten good at wood carving, and Leon told me you like dragons."

"Thanks so much, Yukio! It's really awesome." Cyrus held the little carving close for a moment, before placing it reverently back inside its box.

"You learned to wood carve, Yukio?" Leon asked.

Yukio nodded. "Kept my mind off you-know-what," he said.

"Got it."

"On that note, Leon's can be next!" Cyrus immediately grabbed Leon's gift, wrapped in a nauseatingly bright blue paper, and opened it up. It was a really cool dragon-themed deck box, with a clip to go on any belt.

"Whoa! This is awesome! Where'd this come from?" Cyrus asked.

"It was custom ordered just for you." Leon smiled.

"Wow, thank you Leon." Cyrus said. Leon simply basked in Cyrus's gratitude.

After Leon's present came Justin's.

"I should warn you, it's nothing fancy," Justin admitted.

"That's alright. Any gift from a friend is a good one."

Cyrus opened up the present, and adored what was inside. It was a fluffy plush toy, much like the ones Haru owned, a dragon with forest green fur and marble eyes. "Awww! Thank you, Justin!" Cyrus said, as he lovingly cuddled the plushie.

Justin beamed. "I'm happy you like it!"

Finally, it was Haru's turn. Cyrus turned to the bag Haru had brought, and Haru began to sweat. What if Cyrus didn't like what he had been given? What if he thought it was bad or stupid or ugly? What if…

Haru felt Haruka's hand on his shoulder, and the teen leaned down to whisper in Haru's ear. "It's fine. You worked hard on it. I'm sure he'll like it."

Cyrus opened the gift, tearing the red paper packed inside the bag to hide its contents. Slowly, he drew forth several card packs, from the newest Duel Monsters release, followed by a card tin with the infamous Felgrand Dragon on the cover.

"Cool! This is great, Haru!" Cyrus cheered. "I'll open them when I get home, okay? I don't want the cards to spill out all over, or get lost or ruined."

"That's alright with me," said Haru, whose palms were practically drenched in cold sweat by now. "But there's one more thing in your bag…"

"Really?" Cyrus looked in the bag curiously, and plunged his hand in once more. He fished around for a few seconds, before- "...huh? What's this..?"

The thing he had grabbed was a canvas stretched over a wooden frame, and as Cyrus pulled it out, his eyes widened at the sight of the painting that Haru had made.

It was a picture of the five friends in Leon's particular circle- Leon, Cyrus, Nicky, Lily, and Zeo- all together in a nice meadow setting, enjoying a wonderful evening as the sky faded from pink to a rich midnight blue. Everyone who looked at it marveled. Even Ariel's own jaw dropped.

"This is beautiful!" said Cyrus. "But... where are you in this?"

"Well... against the tree," Haru said.

"There is no tree."

"Here." Haru pointed to the left edge of the painting, right at the corner. There was a small, dark tree there, with Haru leaning against it, watching the others with an unreadable expression.

"_This feels a bit symbolic..." _Baby Dragon said as he looked at the painting over Cyrus's shoulder, unseen and unheard by his Partnered human.

"_What do you mean, BD?" _Petit Dragon asked_._

"_I dunno… it just sorta feels like a reflection of what's in Haru's heart. He wants to be part of the group... but something keeps him at a distance."_

Haru noticed the two of them discussing him, and glowered. "_**If those two spill anything to Cyrus or Leon," **_he thought savagely, "_**then I'll be having dragon meat for dinner."**_

Apparently, Duel Spirits could read minds, and upon hearing Haru's thoughts, both dragons winced. "_Whoa, whoa, if you don't want us telling them you can just say so in a nice way and tone. Like 'please don't tell Leon or Cyrus, okay?' and we'd respect your request," _Baby Dragon replied.

Haru ignored the Partners, not wanting to talk to them any further on the subject. "So, Cyrus… you really like it?" he asked.

"Yeah! It's beautiful. You're a great painter!" complimented Cyrus.

Haru blushed. "Shucks… I try. I'm really glad you like it."

"The penultimate is mine." Haruka said.

Hunter, feeling bad about not having a gift, rubbed against Haruka's leg, whimpering a little.

"Mine and Hunter's," the teen corrected himself, presenting another box wrapped in black with a white ribbon. "It's kinda fancy, so we wrapped it in black."

"I see!" Cyrus said, as he gently took the ribbon off, so not to ruin it, and then opened the gift. Inside was a fancy watch, a soaring dragon engraved around the edge.

"Whoa... incredible," breathed Cyrus. "It's amazing, Haruka… thank you!"

"ARF!"

"Oh, yeah, you too, Hunter."

Erika nodded. "Okay, sweetie," she said to Cyrus. 'Mine is th-"

"Hold it up!"

The whole group was settled by the sudden shout. The employee from the Jurassic Valley, who had been forgotten entirely until then, stomped over to them, hands on his hips, and looked Cyrus square in the eye.

"You ran off without your prize for beating Sarah!" he said.

"Oh yeah! I was having so much fun Dueling, I forgot I was Dueling for a prize." Cyrus rubbed the back of his head, cheeks red. "Uh, what is it, exactly?"

"An ultra rare card made by Antonio Pegasus himself." The employee reached into his left pocket, and pulled out a clear plastic case containing a card. He handed it to Cyrus, who cracked it open eagerly and pulled the card out.

"...Supreme Gale Dragon?" Cyrus asked, looking at the card.

"Yup. He created it himself! You like?"

"Hmm…" Cyrus read the card. "So… it gains 500 Attack and Defense for _every _Wind Monster in the graveyard? Seems a bit... OP."

"_OP?" _Ariel asked.

"Overpowered," Haru replied in an undertone. "Not a good word to describe a card."

"_That's the point of the game, though,"_ Ariel said. "_Being overpowered is the only real way to win."_

Haru shook his head. "No way," he refuted. "That's what beatdown players think. Dueling is as much skill as power. Anyone can smash your Life Points into dust with a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. It takes a really good Duelist to do the same with Burning Algae or Nemuriko."

"Well, thanks for the card anyway," Cyrus said. "It's really cool!"

The employee nodded, then noticed that they were eating. "Oh… did I interrupt dinner? Sorry about that!" He hustled off.

"As I was saying, my gift is the final one." Erika gave her gift to her son. It was wrapped in white paper, with a fancy ribbon on top, so Cyrus was very careful to make sure it stayed safe.

Opening the gift, Cyrus was so amazed by what he found, he was in tears. It was another plushie, but of something special to Cyrus: a red dragon his father created based off him. His father, Edrick Strong, was a cartoonist who had created a number of shows that everyone loved in their time. He had passed on last year, but Cyrus still remembered his father dearly. The boy began to cry as he hugged the toy to his chest. "M-mom… how did you find this…?"

"It turns out, your dad had it made last year, planning to give it to you for your 9th birthday. I found it in a hidden place in his closet, and realized he'd want you to have it. Consider it mine and your father's gift," Erika said softly.

Cyrus burst into even louder wailing as this happened. He hugged his mother "Thank you momma! Thank you! I promise to take good care of Cy, for you and for dad!"

"_Cy?" _Ariel asked, totally clueless.

"It's probably the name of the plushie," Haru murmured.

"It's more than a plushie," Leon said. "I remember Cyrus telling me about his dad making a series called Dragon Adventure, and he was planning to put Cyrus in as a guest voice, playing a red dragon named Cy... but then... _that _happened."

"That" was the illness which had claimed Cyrus's father. It wasn't a common topic around Cyrus, for obvious reasons.

"Well, how do you feel about your tenth birthday?" Erika asked.

Cyrus sniffled and wiped his tears on his sleeve. "Best birthday ever," he said softly.

"Glad you're happy." Erika smiled.

Eventually, nine o'clock rolled around, and everyone headed out of the park, tired from a day of fun, and Erika got them all in her car.

Cyrus was simply playing with his dragon plushies, including a blue one he won at the arcade. Justin was comparing Dueling strategies with Leon. Haruka was holding Haru in his arms, as the blue-haired boy had fallen fast asleep.

"Okay, boys, we ready to go?" Erika asked.

"Uh-huh," Leon said.

"Yup!" Cyrus agreed.

"Zzzzzz," added Haru.

"We're ready," translated Haruka.

"Alright, then." Erika revved up the SUV, and they were off.

RRRRRRRRRRRRRING! went Cyrus's cellphone as they drove into the night. Wondering who could be calling so late, he picked it up tentatively.

"Uh, hello?" he asked.

"**Hey. It's Nicky."**

Cyrus's eyes widened. "Nicky? I thought you were sick!"

"**I got better. Is it alright if I can come over and bring you your birthday present?"**

"SURE!"

"**Okay. I'll be at your place soon. Uh, you like dragons, right?" **

"I LOVE DRAGONS!" Cyrus cheered.

"Shh! You'll wake Haru up!" Haruka scolded.

"Sorry. Yeah, I love dragons."

"**Then you'll like what I'm bringing over. See you at your place." **

They made it back to Cyrus's place, having promised a sleepover at night, to find Nicky at the door.

The blonde boy shifted uncomfortably, dug into a pocket on the inside of his coat, and handed Cyrus a booster pack. "Here."

"Dragon's Ascension?" Cyrus asked, looking at the pack title.

"It's a special booster pack that they just released. Go on, open it, You'll like the last one" said Nicky.

Cyrus curiously opened it up. "Huangdi the Supreme Yellow Dragon, Sun Dragon Inti, Stardust Dragon, Ancient Fairy Dragon, Shooting Star Dragon, Blue-Eyes, and... what the..." The little blond boy pulled the last card out of the pack, eyes wide. "Is this…"

Nicky nodded seriously. "It's the new guy."

"Purge Dragon?" Leon gasped.

"It is… I can't believe it!" Cyrus held the card like it was a gemstone. "Wow… I can't believe I'm holding this card!"

"But... it's the..." Leon shuddered. "The Purge Dragon..."

Nicky looked unperturbed. "It's a card," he said. "Cards can be defeated."

Leon crossed his arms and humphed. "OBVIOUSLY someone didn't see the story I wrote based off my last nightmare three weeks ago."

"You're really melodramatic, you know that?" Haruka said lightly.

"Guys, please cool it… I don't want today to be ruined," Cyrus said. "Hey... Nicky, can I ask you a favor?"

"Alright. Let's go inside, I don't like the dark," Nicky said. Cyrus arched an eyebrow at the request, but nodded. Haruka, still carrying Haru, left for their house, waving goodbye, and Cyrus brought everyone else inside.

Elsewhere, a girl groaned as she crumpled up a piece of paper. "No, no, no, no, no!" she scowled. "Everything I try ends up being a bust…"

"_What's the matter, sweetie?" _an eerie, feminine voice asked.

Thinking it was her mother, the girl sighed. "I keep coming up with designs that end up looking terrible. How am I ever going to win the card designing contest in two weeks?" she lamented.

"_Do you have your effects, stats, and other info figured out?"_

"Well... yeah... just need the Monster and name."

"_That's not hard… just let me take over"_

The girl sighed again, and rested her head on the desk. Her eyes closed, and it seemed like she was asleep for a second…until her eyes snapped right back open, the irises now bright red.

"_I'll make your design," _she sneered, "_and in return, I'll borrow your body to hunt down that brat and finish him off once and for all."_


	4. Chapter 4, The Crying Devil

The morning after Cyrus's birthday, Cyrus and Nicky were chatting over breakfast, with Justin, Leon, and Yukio still asleep.

"So... run that by me again?" Nicky asked.

Cyrus sighed, gently holding his red dragon plushie. "I want you to make a card of Cy here. I know you like to draw, so it would be nice if you could design a card for him." His green eyes looked pleadingly into Nicky's own. "Please?"

"Well... I _do_ still owe you for study buddies, which _did_ save my math grade…" Nicky rested his elbows on the table, taking a bite of a sausage. "Deal. So, tell me more about Cy. I can't draw him as a doll- the Madolches have the monopoly on that. So, who exactly _is _Cy the Red Dragon Cub?"

Cyrus speared the last bite of his pancakes on the end of his fork and ate it up, kicking his legs. "Well... He's a playful, happy little... well... red dragon cub. He loves to fly and is fresh in learning to breathe fire. He's kind, honest, and reliable, especially to his friends. And he would protect them no matter what."

"...Just like you, Cyrus." Nicky smiled slightly and finished his breakfast, before jumping down from the high stool he was sitting on and going to Cyrus's kitchen sink to wash his plate. "You can do the stats, I do the drawing, and maybe Haru can amp up the depth with _his _skills. Sound cool?"

"Sounds good!" Cyrus beamed as he went to wash his plate as well. As soon as he was finished and had stacked his plate above the dishwasher, he ran for the phone to call Haru.

For once, Haru was up early. He was in his room, sitting at his easel, and upon a canvas, he was painting that same scene he gave Cyrus yesterday, with one interesting difference. Haru, in the painting, was a little closer than in the original, his hands behind his back and his gaze averted from the group, and Cyrus was looking in his direction with a smile.

"_Whatcha painting? The new Picasso?"_ Ariel appeared by his side, almost giving Haru a jolt. But by now, he was somewhat used to her. The little Spellcaster scrutinized the painting, squinting and pretending to hold a magnifying lens to her eye. "_Hey... that's the painting you gave Cyrus, ain't it? Except for you being closer, and Cyrus looking at you. Why are you painting the same picture twice?"_

"Practice makes perfect," Haru countered coolly.

"_Mm, whatever you say, Ponytail. Y'know, the Dragon cubs were right, this painting IS symbolic."_

Haru bit his lip. "Can it."

"_Don't want it going public?" _Ariel asked.

"You know precisely why I don't want it going 'public', Ariel... Just leave me be for now, okay? I don't want to disturb Haruka," Haru grunted.

As if Haru had jinxed it, RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIING! The phone in the living room rang like crazy, waking Haruka, who had fallen asleep on the couch, up anyway.

"Waah!" The older of the Taylor brothers yelped as he was startled out of a dream, rolling off the side of the bed and falling to the ground in a thump, much like his little brother did when startled awake. "I'll get it!" Haruka staggered to his feet and stumbled over to the phone that lay innocuously on the mantelpiece. "Taylor house. Haruka. Start talking, it's your nickel."

"**Hey... It's Cyrus... You okay, Haruka?"**

"Just woke up." Haruka apparently shared the same bad temper that his brother did when awoken by force. "Sorry. What's wrong?"

"**Nothing wrong, but Nicky and I wanted to talk to Haru."**

"Oh?" Haruka shook his head to clear his thoughts, and nodded. "Sure, gimme a minute." He took a deep breath, then bellowed, "HARU! PHONE! IT'S CYRUS!"

Haru abandoned his painting and traipsed his way downstairs, grabbing the phone from Haruka's hand. "Uh, Haru here..."

"**Hey, Haru!"** Cyrus said. "**Uh, Nicky and I are designing a fanmade Duel Monsters card for Cy the Dragon. Would it be okay if you could use your mad painting skills to make it look really good?"**

"Oh, that red dragon toy... Um... Well, if you can give me a sketch and about a week, sure, I guess..." Haru rubbed the back of his head.

"**Awesome. We'll get it to you ASAP!"**

"Okay. See you."

On the other line, Cyrus hung up and smiled at Nicky conspiratorially. "We're good, just need to get him a sketch and give him a week, bingo."

"Perfect," Nicky said. Then, he shifted slightly from where he was seated on Cyrus's living room couch. "Uh, by the way… I didn't tell anyone this, because I got sick, but, uh..."

He leaned in to Cyrus's ear, eyes darting from side to side, and whispered. "I got tickets to Zero Con. For the whole crew."

"... you got tickets to _Zero Con? _The _biggest_ convention of the year?!" Cyrus's jaw dropped all the way to the floor. Zero Con was an absolutely huge convention that displayed just about everything from anime to comic books to video games and more, held annually in Otsu, Japan since 2068. "HOW!?"

"My dad volunteered to work as a security guard this year, and got me seven VIP passes."

"Seven? Let's see.." Cyrus began counting on his fingers. "That's good for you, me, Leon, Yukio, Justin, and the Taylors, right?"

"Yup. Hunter doesn't count, because he's a service dog."

"Wow... just enough for the whole group," Cyrus said. "Except Lily and Zeo, cuz they're away."

Nicky nodded. "Oh... and if it's okay, uh.. can we, maybe, cosplay the first day? Like, all of us in costume?" He looked to the side, clasping his fingers together.

"Sure! I can use my Baby Dragon Halloween costume." Cyrus smiled at the thought. That costume got Cyrus a LOT of candy and won him a contest resulting in even MORE candy.

"You do that. As for myself..." Nicky blushed. "I'm going to try something special."

"Nice! But for now, we have a card to make."

"Right."

Cyrus, Nicky, and Haru quickly got to work on the special card, not knowing Nicky had something extra special planned for the card later. Cyrus was the one who had created the original template, featuring the card's stats, Type, name, effect, and Attribute. Nicky, using the Cy toy as reference, drew a sketch of the Duel Monster edition of Cy. Then the sketch was given to Haru, who, impressed by Nicky's efforts, put HIS best efforts in too. The week rolled by, and soon, it was ready.

"Um... here it is," Haru said as they met up outside Cyrus's house the Saturday after his birthday party, holding a canvas. Eagerly, Cyrus grabbed the mockup that they'd created, and looked over it with a surprising intensity.

The card's stats were as follows: Fire-Attribute, Level 3, 900/700, Dragon/Tuner. Its effect was quite simple: "This Monster can attack twice in the same Battle Phase."

The picture was the best part, though. It depicted a young and admittedly cute dragon cub standing proudly atop a mountain, overlooking a vast sapphire sky dotted with clouds and a deep, verdant valley below.

"Wow... Haru... your coloring and depth is amazing... Nicky, the scene is perfect," Cyrus said.

"The card itself is good, too," Nicky said. "Sorry my sketch was so rough, Haru."

"No problem..."

"And there's more... Zero Con has a Card Design contest. The top five cards that get submitted are made official," Nicky finally revealed.

Cyrus blinked. "Wait, wha?"

"Are you saying…" Haru gasped.

Nicky nodded. "We're submitting Cy into the contest."

"Cy... an official card?" Cyrus could barely believe his ears.

"Right," Nicky said. "I know how special he is to you, so why not immortalize him in art?"

"Whoa… an official card design contest. I really hope that this will work, Nicky."

"I'm certain of it." Nicky nodded.

Meanwhile, though, Haru noticed something. Cyrus's Partners, Baby and Petit Dragon, had appeared on his shoulders, and were whispering to one another.

"_**What are those two up to?" **_Haru thought to himself.

Soon, though, it became apparent what they were going to do: Somehow, Petit Dragon had acquired a Sharpie marker, and they were going to scribble all over Nicky with it. Nicky didn't seem to notice that the two Dragon-Types were plotting a prank on him, and Haru was about to warn Cyrus of the fact when they rocketed off towards Nicky.

"_**This is not going to end well…"**_ Haru thought as he saw the two Dragon-Types heading straight towards Nicky. Petit Dragon was laughing his head off as Baby Dragon uncapped the marker. They were just about to scribble a moustache and monocle on Nicky's face, when…

SNAP.

Haru and Cyrus's jaws dropped. Nicky had somehow _grabbed _both the miniature dragons and the marker in his right hand. How was that even possible? Ariel had told Haru that Duel Spirits were intangible to humans.

"You guys think you're _so_ clever, huh?" Nicky's voice had become ice cold, and his grip on the Duel Spirits was like iron. "Nice try, you two." He squeezed both Dragons, and they cried out in pain, before he recapped the marker and flung the Partners into the air. They flew backwards, stunned, before righting themselves in midair and staring at Nicky like he was a two-headed moose.

"H-how did you do that!?" both Haru and Cyrus said with a look of bewilderment in their faces.

Nicky sighed, sticking his hands in his pockets. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this. I've been able to interact with Duel Spirits since the day I was born."

"But I thought that Duel Spirits were intangible to humans…" Haru said.

"Not to me. I'm what's called Spirit-Touched. We're rare, but we're born with the ability to see and interact with Duel Spirits."

"Now you tell me… but why did you hide it for so long?" Haru asked.

"I thought you guys would think I was a freak…" Nicky looked down. "After all, nobody thinks Duel Spirits are anything more than holograms. Even after I saw you guys Partnered, I was nervous."

"We would never think of you as a freak." Cyrus said. "After all, look at how far we've come together as friends!"

Nicky bit his lip. "If you say so…" he mumbled. Then, he looked at Haru. "Haru… you were the first one I saw who had a Partner, when you gave me that soup. How did you come by Ariel?"

"Well, while I was dueling this guy at the Yugi Mutou festival, there was a Parasite that was inside of him. And during the battle, some sort of power awoke inside of me and Ariel... kinda just appeared before me." Haru shrugged. "I saw her kinda drag the Parasite out and imprison him in her staff."

Nicky nodded seriously. "I see. What's she like?"

"Between you and me?" Haru grimaced. "No offense meant, but... well, she's a serious pain in the neck."

"How serious, though? It's not like she would do what Cyrus's partners just tried to." Nicky smirked.

"_Hey," _Baby Dragon protested from his perch back on Cyrus's shoulder.

"Don't blame me. I'm just telling it like it is." Nicky rolled his eyes. "Anyway, did you guys ask your parents about Zero Con?" He had told everyone about Zero Con a while ago, but had yet to hear if it was okay for his friends (and Haru) to come along.

"I haven't asked Mom about it yet, but I plan to do so," said Cyrus. "When is it?"

Nicky thought about it. "Umm… next Wednesday. Good thing it's summer. How about you, Haru?"

Haru was uncertain about this convention. He had never been good with crowds, so a con with many people there may not be the greatest of things. However, he was willing to give it a go for the heck of it, particularly because Haruka had practically gone over the moon when he learned about it. Hopefully, things wouldn't go south.

"Uh… sure, I guess," Haru said tentatively. "Haruka can come, right..?"

Nicky nodded. "Of course."

Haru was relieved and wondered what he had to do now. "So...what do we do now, then?" he asked, not trying to be rude.

"Well… why not just go home? We finished the card," Cyrus said. "We can see one another at Zero Con."

"I guess so," Nicky said. "I'm gonna go home. Wanna walk home with me, Haru?"

Haru tensed up and looked uncomfortable. "Uhh...I… Uhh.." He mumbled, uncertain what to say. He wasn't sure about walking back home just with Nicky. Would he have a panic attack near Nicky?

Nicky noticed Haru's apprehension. "It's alright," he said, "I'm harmless."

"Uh… o-okay then…" Haru gulped. "But don't expect me to h-hold your hand or something, alright?"

"Why would I?" Nicky said. "Let's go." He began walking away, waving goodbye to Cyrus as he did. After a second's hesitation, Haru did the same.

"_There you go. sweetie. All done."_

The girl with red eyes smiled at her handiwork. "_This is perfect. Now, I can go on my little witch-hunt. Or should I say… Duelist hunt?"_

"S..sure..."

"_Shh… you just sleep. It'll be alright."_

The girl fell into a deep slumber, giving the voice complete control.

"_Now it's time for a little bit of fun with this… Duelist hunt." _The girl's eyes opened once more, and she turned on her laptop.

Before long, it was time for Zero Con.

"So this is Zero Con. Let's hope that the price to get in was worth it."

Leon, Hunter, and Yukio were the first to arrive. Leon was wearing a shoddily-constructed pegasus costume, created by his mother from several old white shirts and pajama pants. The wings had been made of wire and felt and Leon frequently had to adjust them to keep them from bumping into people as he traversed the crowded Otsu streets with his mother following close behind.

Yukio had something much better in quality- a costume he had sewn together himself. It was a grey and green-feathered gryphon costume, complete with a hood shaped like a gryphon's head. His costume's wings and tail had been constructed much more flexibly than Leon's, so that he could "fold" them out of the way. He even had paw shoes to match. Yukio had clearly put a LOT of effort into this costume.

Hunter wasn't in costume, but instead, he was wearing his standard service dog vest, in a nice shade of blue, along with his bandanna. He frequently scratched at the vest, unsuccessfully trying to defeat an itch.

"Welcome, kids," said a security employee, as they approached the entrance of the convention hall, a large, sleek building. "You kids have VIP passes?"

"I've got both of ours here." Leon pulled out two passes. "Hunter's my service dog, and this is my mom."

"Bought my own pass." Ms. McCloud whipped out her own pass. The security guard straightened his tie and inspected all three passes carefully.

"Okay," he said cheerily once he was finished. "You three are good to go. Have a nice time!"

The three headed inside, and made their way to a small, earthy cafe near the entrance. Inside were two boys, brothers perhaps- the younger one in a kid's wolf costume, the elder in a very well-done fursuit with the head off.

"Welcome to Zero Con," the older of the two brothers said.

"Thank you. I'm Leon, this is Yukio, and that's Hunter." Leon gestured to the three respectively.

"And I'm their mother, Charlotte." Ms. McCloud beamed. "Your names?"

"I'm Jay, and that's Blitz," the younger one said. "We're here because big bro is here for a fursuit dance meet… or something."

"Please excuse my little bro, he's got an active imagination. We're really here because our dad is a celebrity with a panel here this year," Blitz explained.

"Then why are you in your fursuit?" retorted Jay.

"Oh... right... It's both reasons." Blitz rubbed the back of his neck.

"So... who's your dad?" Yukio asked curiously.

"Well, our dad is pretty well known. You familiar with Taran Deschenes?" Blitz asked.

"Taran Deschenes?! The guy that voice acts Blitz the Wolf in that popular anime?!"

"The same one."

"What anime?" Yukio asked.

Leon stared at him as if he had two heads for a moment, before remembering that Yukio probably hadn't watched any television in the past two years. "Blitz and Blizzard, this really popular anime about two wolf brothers in a race around the world. It's a really good show, and it's catching up to Avatar in the list of greatest shows of all time."

"It's THAT good?" Yukio asked.

Leon nodded soberly. "Yup," he said.

"Our dad and his friend Dustin Erico, the voice of Blizzard, have a panel at 11:35 today."

"Sweet!" Leon said.

The group just began chatting it up.

Cyrus and Justin were the next to arrive.

Cyrus was dressed up in a full-body Baby Dragon costume, with a backpack designed to be the costume's wings for holding important things. His Partners were riding on his shoulders, obviously pleased at his choice of costume. Meanwhile, Justin was clad in an orangey-brown and purple fox costume, the bright colors difficult to lose in any crowd.

"Welcome! VIP passes?" the employees asked as they arrived with Erika hot on their heels.

"Right here." Erika pulled out three passes. "Two from a friend, one bought myself."

"Come on in."

The three headed inside, meeting the others at the cafe.

"OH! Hey Justin. Hello, Cyrus. Morning Mrs. Strong." Leon said, "Meet our new friends, Blitz and Jay."

"Pleased to meet you. Mrs. Strong," Blitz said.

"Wow... Erika Strong... the famous actress... Do you have a panel at Zero Con?" Jay asked.

"I do not, unfortunately."

"But how can a GREAT actress like you NOT have a panel at the BIGGEST con of the year?" Jay asked.

Erika shrugged. "I suppose they want to focus more on animation this year. I'm an actress, not a voice actress."

"I see..." Jay looked disappointed. "I had some great questions to ask you about your role in "The White Rose" as Rochelle."

"It's okay."

"You sure?" Jay asked.

Erika nodded. She sat down at a table in the cafe, and Jay asked her the questions

Next came the Taylor twins. As they approached the convention hall, Haru bit his lip and shifted uncomfortably, picking at the satin cloak his costume had come with. "Haruka, this stuff is hot…"

"There's AC in the center," Haruka said. "You'll feel a lot better once we get inside."

"I won't _look_ better!" Haru was dressed in what was ostensibly a male version of Ariel's outfit: a long, blue and brown cloak, and a dark blue tunic underneath. His ponytail was down, and he was wearing a large, dark blue hat on his head with a golden plate attached to it.

"Sorry, but don't worry, it's today only. You can wear whatever you want when we go home." Haruka was cosplaying as Noble Six from Halo Reach, wearing the ridiculously high-tech armor common to the game series. "Actually, if you ditch the hat and cloak, you could be your own Gishki."

"Forget it," Haru growled. "I'm not gonna make it worse."

"Okay," Haruka said, approaching the guards. "Noble Six reporting. I have our identification cards here," he said in Japanese. He pulled out the two VIP passes he had been provided with by Nicky. The guards chuckled.

"Be sure to have that Needle Rifle get safety checked," one guard said. Haruka was carrying a prop weapon: a weird, alien-looking weapon done up in black, gunmetal grey, and purple.

"No problem," Haruka said. He strode into the convention hall, and Haru tried to follow, but he was stopped by the guards.

"And what have we got here? Trying to play wizard?" one of the guards asked in a condescending voice. "How cute."

"I thought you guys were working here on a professional level," Haru snapped. "Out of my way." He ran past the guards to join his brother.

"Ouch..." The guard said.

"You deserved that," the other said.

"Hi, Haru. Hi, Haruka." Leon greeted as they entered the cafe.

Haru plopped himself down in a seat, crossing his arms and scowling.

"Whoa... just trying to be nice," Leon said.

"I hate cosplay," was Haru's response.

"Got it." Leon averted his eyes from Haru's glare. "Did he forget to eat breakfast or something?" he asked Haruka.

"One of the guards teased him about his cosplay," Haruka said. Haru's scowl deepened. "Enough said."

"Hey, it's okay!" Leon said brightly. "You look cool, Haru!"

"Shut up!" Haru said. "The only reason I'm wearing this dumb costume is because Haruka forced me into it!"

"Let's stop talking about this," Leon suggested. Haru just groaned and slammed his head into the table.

"Are any of you going to order," the cafe's barista asked, "or are you all just going to sit around complaining?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Um... Milk please?" Leon said.

"Same here," Yukio added.

"I'll take the largest iced caramel latte you can find, with _extra_ whipped cream," groused Haru, "and if you can, put it on _his_ credit card." He pointed at Haruka.

Haruka winced. "Gee... thanks... I'll take fruit punch."

"We don't serve fruit punch here," the barista said.

"Okay, water will do."

The Barista looked at Jay and Erika.

"And you?"

"Double caramel cappuccino with a raspberry scone please," Erika said.

"Water for me please," Jay said.

"Coming right up. Oh, and you with the blue hair? You might wanna work on the anger management. It's just a costume."

"...I'll pay for the latte."

Finally, Nicky and his dad arrived.

"Do you think they'll like it?" Nicky asked shyly. "I made it myself, y'know…"

"You may be surprised how many pictures people will want with you. You can always hide your face with the costume," his dad said.

"Okay…"

The two came to the guards.

"Volunteer pass and VIP pass." Lawrence smiled and presented the passes for him and Nicky. The guards let them in with minimal fuss, and as Nicky entered the cafe, everyone stared.

Nicky was dressed in what looked like a rather accurate costume of Red Eyes Black Dragon- more so, he looked like a knight wearing armor designed after the famous dragon. It was made of sturdy materials, well colored, and paid great attention to detail. It almost looked like Nicky was an actual knight of old, who had come right out of a fairy tale.

"Wow... Nicky, that is the best Red-Eyes costume I've ever seen," Leon said.

Nicky blushed and pulled the costume's visor over his eyes.

"Hi," Jay come over. "Nice costume, I'm Jay." He offered a handshake. Nicky shook it slightly.

"Nicky... thanks for the compliment." Nicky said. "I'm here because my dad's doing volunteer work."

"It's thanks to Nicky's dad that our group are here at Zero Con," Cyrus said.

Lawrence smiled. "Shucks."

"Oh... Nicky, did you bring the card?" Cyrus asked, rubbing his hands together nervously.

Nicky nodded and set his backpack on the table. Opening it, he pulled out the canvas they had worked on.

"Thank goodness."

"Is that the _secret project _you two and Haru spent the last two weeks on?" Lawrence asked.

Nicky nodded. "It's a total secret."

"Cyrus said it was a card... wait a sec... isn't there a card contest this year?" Leon asked.

Once again, Nicky nodded.

"You three are entering a card in, aren't you?" Yukio asked, doing the math.

"Bingo," Haru said. "It was fun to make, actually…"

"Cyrus' literary skills plus Nicky's art skills plus Haru's color and detail expertise? You're gonna at least make the top 5."

"Oh, you're entering the card contest?" Jay asked.

Haru groaned. "Yes. Yes, we are."

Jay pulled out a card. "Snow Wolf's gonna win it."

Haru stared. "...Sure." The alleged card Jay had pulled out was…. terrible. The effect was good, but the illustration was extremely sloppy. "You put… effort into it."

"Thanks, I spent all year on it."

Nicky blinked. That was the best Jay had after a WHOLE YEAR? But Nicky did see the effort, despite the sloppiness.

"It's… not bad," Nicky said. "The only problem is that the drawing is messy."

"I know... but I did my best."

Nicky raised his visor, and smiled softly. "That's good."

"Thank you." Jay smiled back .

Unbeknownst to Jay and Blitz, Firewing Pegasus popped up on Haruka's shoulder. "_This contest..." _Firewing said. "_Tell me more about it."_

Haruka blinked. "Firewing? Wow, nice timing," he murmured. "Nicky, Cyrus, and Haru are entering a card design contest to get a card they created made into a real one."

"_Make their card a real one?"_ Firewing said. "_Seems like an ideal goal for many."_

"Uh… what?" Haruka asked.

"_Might bring out the worst in some." _

Haruka groaned. "If you're going to talk nonsense, beat it," he said as the barista brought over his group's drinks.

Later on, as the convention got underway, the group headed the registry for the contest. The crowds were absolutely gigantic, and Haru got bumped around this way and that by a series of cosplay props, ranging everywhere from huge red sombreros to enormous wooden staffs.

"_You okay, Haru?" _asked Ariel, riding on his shoulder as Haru ducked to avoid a large red scythe prop being carried by a black-haired girl.

"I'm being beaten and buffed around by all kinds of who knows what," Haru grumbled, holding onto his hat. "You tell me."

"_Easy, we're almost to a safe zone. Look!" _Ariel pointed in the distance, and Haru's verdant eyes widened and his heart lifted when he saw a clearing totally free of people.

"A safe zone!" Leon said. "You guys wanna rest?"

Haru couldn't run there fast enough.

As the group made its way through the crowd to the clearing, Baby Dragon came over to Nicky. "_Got a sec?" _it asked.

Nicky arched an eyebrow. "What?" he asked.

"_I was just curious. Do you enjoy designing cards like the one you helped Cyrus with?"_

"It's a hobby," the blond said with a shrug.

"_Petit and I noticed you seemed to put a LOT of effort into that card." _

"So? I take pride in my work."

"_Dedicated? That's a great trait."_

Nicky shrugged again and paid Baby Dragon no heed. Instead, locating a stand where a dealer was selling art commissions, he began to chat it up and pull a sketchbook out of his backpack, to show off his work and possibly receive art criticism.

"You want me to look at your concepts?" the dealer asked. At Nicky's nod and presentation of his sketchbook, the art dealer took the book and flipped it open to the first page. What he saw there surprised him. "You seem to like drawing scenes of ravens getting... offed."

Indeed, the first few pages were filled with crude and frankly gruesome sketches of ravens being killed in various ways. The first page was dominated by a disturbing scene of a raven being hung at the gallows as weird, humanoid shadows cheered all around it, and around this drawing were images of ravens being drowned, decapitated, burned in fire, mutilated, shot…

"Those are… personal." Nicky looked away. "There's more than just that."

Then came a scene of a Coyote protecting a Wolf from a Raven.

"Seriously... what's with these ravens?"

"It's a... bit of a long story."

"...mm…" Thankfully, after that were more conventional drawings- landscapes, primarily, each with a Polaroid photograph gently taped to it.

"Ah, you've got skill in setting and backdrop designs," the dealer noted. He pointed to a scene of a lake in the rain. "I like this one a lot. The depth with just a pencil shading is amazing!"

"Thanks."

"You know... I have a friend in Industrial Illusions, and am friends with the CEO of Nintendo. If you want, I can get these put into games or made into cards."

Nicky shook his head vehemently. "N-no thank you," he said softly. "That wouldn't be okay."

"Could we try a partnership? These could fetch a pretty penny."

"I'm not interested in money," said Nicky. "I draw for my own sake."

"But I could make a fortune off these if you could just-"

"_No_!" Nicky snapped. "They're _mine!" _He snatched his sketchbook back from the bemused art dealer and ran back to the group. Everyone looked upon him in wonder and a little fear as they saw him skid to a halt, panting and heaving, in their ranks, face twisted in an expression of fury.

"You okay, Nicky?" Leon asked, concerned.

Nicky fixed Leon right in the eye with a glare that made the brunette's blood run cold, and he let out an almost bestial snarl. Tears began to brim in his eyes as he hugged his sketchbook close. "I won't let anyone take this away," he growled.

"Well, you know they're safe around us."

"I know... now let's just get to that blasted registry." Nicky beckoned Haru and Cyrus to follow him, and stormed off, quickly consulting a directory in the middle of the convention hall.

"Welcome to the card contest. You have cards to enter? We only have three slots left so now's the time," said the receptionist at the card registry. It was on the opposite side of the convention hall from the entrance, and rather out of the way, so it had taken the trio of designers a while to get there.

Nicky placed the canvas on the table gently. "We'd like to register this card," he said. "We made it together."

"A team effort? That's good! Let's see…" The receptionist picked up the card and inspected it carefully, looking at it from all angles. "Good stats and effect, great effort to details, and well colored. Congrats, your card is entry eighteen. I'll need names."

"Nicky Anderson, Cyrus Strong, Haru Taylor."

The lady wrote down the names.

"Oh... I'd like to submit a card too," Jay said, handing the lady his own card.

The lady looked over it and frowned. "Decent effect, but the art is incomprehensible. I'm sorry, but you'll have to try again next year."

"Aw..." Jay sighed.

"...I'll help you," Nicky said. "It's a promise."

"Thanks, Nicky."

"Haru, Nicky, Cyrus, the contest results event is at 3:27 sharp. As contestants, attendance is required. Understand?"

"Got it." Cyrus said.

Haru gulped.

"Right," said NIcky.

"So, it's 11:00... Jay's dad's panel, anyone?" Leon asked. His suggestion was met with cheers from everyone but Haru and NIcky.

"Welcome to the card contest. You have cards to enter? We only have two slots left so, now's the time," said the receptionist.

"I'd like to enter… this." The girl smiled and slid a card forward.

"Okay... great stats... the illustration seems... sadistic..." The receptionist shuddered. "You're in."

The stage in the center of the convention hall was jam-packed with Duelists eager to watch the proceedings of the card design contest, and as the hour of the results being unveiled drew near, Haru and his companions made their way to the stage, getting front row seats for being in the contest.

"I got a ton of autographs and pictures today," Leon said, showing everyone the autographs he had received in a book.

"It was nice to see everyone so happy!" Cyrus added. "There was so much cool stuff!"

"And now, ladies and gentlemen... Please welcome your host with the most! Gregory McLean!"

A sleazy-looking man stepped onstage as the audience cheered.

"Yo, Zero Con!" He shouted. "It's an honor to be here. I'm Gregory McLean, and I'm here to announce the results of this year's card design competition!"

The crowd cheered excitedly.

"Okay, we got twenty entries! From these, five have been chosen as the best! These five will have their cards made official. If your card and name are called, please come up to the stage!"

The screen behind Gregory showed the twenty cards.

"Number 7, the Monster "Sky Slicer 7003X", from Vincent Mason!"

A young African American boy happily made his way on stage.

"Hey there, Vincent!" Gregory said, shoving the mike in Vincent's face. "Tell me, what inspired this card?"

"The AeroCanard FG." Vincent beamed.

"I see... Okay then! Next up is the Trap Card, Poison of Blue, made by Anya Pinchevskaya!"

A Russian girl in a pastel blue dress came up to the stage, blushing deeply.

"Can you say what inspired this card, Anya?" Gregory asked.

Anya blushed even deeper. "I'd rather not say… it's special to me."

"Next in the top five is actually a team effort, Cy the Red Dragon Cub! By Haru Taylor, Nicky Anderson, and Cyrus Strong!"

Cyrus, Nicky, and Haru came up looking at one another with surprise, as the crowds whooped and hollered all around them. Cyrus was beaming as he stepped up beside Gregory, while Nicky was blushing under his cosplay and Haru looked as though he were about to drop dead of embarrassment.

"So, tell me, boys," Gregory said, "how did you three pull off this collaboration?"

Haru and Nicky let Cyrus speak.

"I did the stats and effect, Nicky designed the look and scene, and Haru handled color and detail." Cyrus smiled cheerfully and crossed his arms, taking his place next to the rest of the contestants with Haru and Nicky following behind.

Ariel smiled from her place on Haru's shoulder. "_Seems like you guys are popular!"_ she whispered conspiratorially.

"Next is a monster called Thunder Beast - Raiju, made by Naoki Kaminaga."

A Japanese boy came up on stage and shook Gregory's hand.

"Can you tell us what inspired you to make this card?"

"Raiju was a story I always liked, so I figured why not make it into a card?"

"Awesome. And finally, we have…" Gregory's sunny smile became a puzzled frown. "Um… Sealed Raven Knight. Euuuh…. by Maria Marroquin."

A girl came on stage, wearing all black and looking rather nasty. She gave Nicky a dark smile, causing the armored boy to jump back and make a surprised squeak.

"And... we have our five... now then we will count off the cards from 5th place to first, and the winner will be rewarded accordingly. In Fifth Place... Vincent!"

Vincent shrugged and smiled. "What do I win?"

"A taste of new power- a card pack that's not yet in stores! And it's not just one, it's a whole tin's worth. Enjoy!" Gregory led Vincent backstage, and he soon reappeared, holding a card tin full of booster packs and descending back into the audience to be with his family.

"Next up, Fourth! Naoki!"

"Only fourth? Darn…" Naoki sighed. "What a bummer."

"Hey, no worries! You get a tin, as well as a free annual pass to Kaibaland!"

Naoki perked up. "NICE! I love Kaibaland!" He smiled as he was led down.

"Next, third place goes to... Maria!"

Nicky shuddered as Maria laughed darkly.

"Maria, you win the tin, the pass, AND a new Duel Disk!"

"Whatevs..." She said, looking at Nicky.

"And now... the winner... or should I say, winners... ARE NICKY! HARU! AND CYRUS!"

The crowd exploded in applause as the trio of artists gasped in shock. Haru looked from Ariel, who shrugged, to his collaborateurs, who smiled, to Gregory, who smiled wider, and then toppled over in a dead faint.

"They will get the tins, the passes, the Duel Disks, a copy of Number 39: Utopia signed by the latest World Championship winner, AND this solid gold TROPHY!"

Nicky's jaw dropped, and he lifted his helmet's visor to gaze upon the enormous, golden trophy that Gregory had somehow produced out of nowhere.

"_Spell Card...Hinotama."_

Gregory was about to hand the trophy to Cyrus, when...

BANG!

Gregory shrieked at a pitch almost as high as a dog whistle and dropped the trophy, which had exploded into flames. Cyrus jumped back as the golden prize dropped to the ground, its splendor bubbling and melting in the bright orange fire.

"_PARASITE ALERT!" _Baby Dragon shouted. "_It's that Maria girl!"_

Haru, hearing Baby Dragon's warning, readied his Duel Disk, but Nicky held a hand up. "I'll handle this."

Calmly, composedly, Nicky walked over to Maria, who was watching the flames with an inscrutable expression on her face.

"_You... I finally have you…" _hissed "Maria", her expression changing into a sick smile. "_Trap Card: Shadow Spell!"_

A magic circle formed under her, pure white with currents of a weird, sickly grey running through, and a card-image appeared in front of her. However, before its dastardly effect could take place and ensnare Nicky...

WHAM!

Nicky had hit Maria's card-image just as it became corporeal, shattering it to pieces and breaking the spell. "Let's take this outside, shall we?" he said with a cool, flat tone, extending a hand. "I formally extend an invitation to a Spell Battle. Negotiations will be conducted on the grounds outside the convention hall."

"_Fine... but your friends better not try to cry for help," _"Maria" conceded. She shook Nicky's hand with an iron grip.

"Fine," Nicky said.

"Be careful," Cyrus warned.

Haru gulped.

"_So now I have you!" _declared "Maria". She and Nicky were in a courtyard outside the convention center, facing one another. Nicky had shed his cosplay in favor of his ordinary outfit, and on the sidelines, Haru, Cyrus, and the others were watching."

"On the contrary…" Nicky drew his deck box forth from his pocket. "I've got you." He took a card out. "Trap Card: The Eye of Truth."

Suddenly, there a flash of blinding light, as a giant eye appeared, "Reveal yourself! Grimro!"

"Maria" collapsed to the ground, and something fell out of her body- a dark shadow, which began to waver and take form.

"What the..." Leon was drop-jawed. "Who is that?!"

The shadow soon assumed an entirely different form- the shape of a pale-skinned, adolescent girl clothed in a black feather dress, wings like midnight protruding from her back. Her eyes were a solid red through and through, and she leered at Nicky. "So you've found me out. Nice to see you again, Nicky. How's your brother? Still moldering in the ground with the maggots and the worms?"

Nicky looked down. His fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "...He was everything to me…" he said slowly. He removed his backpack, and took out an odd gauntlet without fingers. As he slid it onto his arm, opened his deck box, and placed his deck in a slot on the gauntlet, he continued talking. "But you took him. And with him, you took my compassion, my kindness, and my mercy." The boy looked up, and his acquaintances recoiled as they saw something dark in his jade green eyes. "Big mistake, because all you see now is a heart burning with hatred. You feed on desire and twist it to your own will to get what you want. But now, starting with you, every last Parasite will perish in the flames of my anger! Spell Battle: ENGAGE!"

**(Nicky: 8000 - Grimro: 8000)**

Almost immediately, Nicky thrust out a hand. "Spell Card: Blaze Accelerator!"

"_Spell Card: Buster Rancher!" _

Two spell circles formed- Grimro's white and grey, and a bright red one under Nicky. Two card-images appeared, and each of them was suddenly armed with an object.

Nicky had a small, metal tripod in front of him, something like a cross between a camera and a machine gun. Grimro, opposite him, was armed with some sort of enormous gun herself. It was bright red and looked like nobody without Hulk-like strength could carry it, but somehow, the Fiend managed it.

"Ready... Aim... FIRE!" Grimo pulled the oversized trigger. A bolt of green energy blasted out of the Buster Rancher, headed straight for Nicky. Everyone screamed in fright, but just before it hit, Nicky leapt out of the way with the grace of a dancer, landing lightly on one foot as the bolt impacted the wall behind him and vanished into green sparks. "FI-"

"Fire!" Nicky countered. He aimed his tripod-gun, and from it came a small but alarmingly fast burst of flame.

"What is that thing?" asked Cyrus.

"Blaze Accelerator," Nicky said. "Usually, it lets me discard a low-power Fire Monster to destroy a card. Here in a Spell Battle, it's diff- WHOA!" He jumped out of the way of Grimro's Buster Rancher, which the Fiend had decided to actually THROW at him.

"_Spell Card: Level Limit Area B!"_ Grimro flung out a hand, and Nicky was forced to his knees. "_That should hold you for a while,_" she hissed. "_Spell Cards: Sword of Dark Destruction and Lightning Blade!"_

Two swords appeared in her hands: one electrified and crackling brightly, the other a blade of blood red, and bathed in an aura of Darkness. Grimro struck a pose, and advanced on Nicky.

"NICKY!" Cyrus shouted in concern.

Nicky smirked. "You… are right where I want you."

"Oh?" Grimro smirked, confident. "You WANT to join your brother?"

"Nope…"

And suddenly, Nicky STOOD UP, and PUNCHED Grimro right in the face. His smirk widened, showing teeth, and everyone watching shuddered at the sadistic smile on his face. He was struggling to stand due to the Level Limit- his body was shaking prominently, and he kept bending over only to straighten himself once more. "You're going to be moldering in your own grave." Painstakingly, he raised up the arm with the gauntlet attached, and tapped a touch screen on it twice. "Spell Card: SOUL OF FIRE!"

"What the?!" Grimo gasped. Her crimson eyes widened and her jaw hung open as Nicky's red magic circle formed, and began to blaze with insanely bright light. Haru had to avert his eyes from the sheer force of the light.

Nicky began to laugh. It was a high-pitched, hysterical laugh, twisted and awful-sounding. "Finally… _finally_!" he cackled. "Finally, I can get my revenge on you!" His magic circle literally burst into flames, which burned all around him like an evil halo.

"Oh no." Leon was shaking in his costume. "Nicky's dark side... again..."

"His… what?" Haru asked. He looked towards Nicky, and blinked when he saw that despite his laughter, there were tears in the blond boy's eyes. "He's… crying?"

"You... WHO ARE YOU?!" Grimro asked. She backed away slowly, until she was in the courtyard's corner.

Nicky's laughter stopped, and he looked Grimro right in the eyes. "I'm the monster that _you've _created, Grimro. I'm Nicky… the Crying Devil." His gauntlet's touch screen suddenly went haywire, fizzing into static before displaying a number: infinity.

The fire around Nicky burned bright, and gathered around his fists, somehow not burning him. Tears streamed down Nicky's face as he broke into a run, right for Grimro. She panicked and tried to fly away, her wings desperately beating at the air as she tried to escape, but Nicky jumped into the air right from under her, and yanked her back down by the leg. Grimro plummeted to the ground in a heap, and Nicky forced her to look at him.

"Say goodbye."

And with that, Nicky punched Grimro right in the stomach. She howled in agony and burst into flame just like the trophy she'd set alight.

(Grimro: 8000 - 0)

"_Was she sealed?" _asked Wisdom.

Nicky shook his head, that sick smile still on his face. "No. I killed her, and now she's in Hell, where she and the rest of her kind belong."

"_Oh my... You... killed a Duel Spirit?"_

Haru gasped. "People can do that!?"

"_Only he can,"_ Ariel said. "_He was the one I mentioned before. The one that's risky to bond with."_

"That was a great show you put on there, kiddo!" Nicky stiffened as into the courtyard, a literal crowd of people who had been watching from inside the convention center rushed. One of them, Gregory himself, shook his hand up and down, very nearly taking Nicky with it. "That was amazing, kid!" Gregory congratulated. "What was that all about? Was that a stage show you put on for everyone?"

"I- I don't- I, uh," Nicky stammered, his previous, frightening demeanor gone completely in his bewilderment.

"_Nicky, unless you want this convention to panic, roll with this punch!" _advised Wisdom.

"I, uh… y-yeah!" Nicky nodded. "That was a performance we put on for some entertainment."

Gregory smiled. "Let's give our little heroes a round of applause!" he announced to the crowd. Everyone who had seen the event began clapping.

Nicky was red, but he just smiled slightly, waving at the crowd.

"You deserve a reward for entertaining us all, especially since the trophy is mush."

"You think so?" Nicky asked. He wrung his hands nervously. "S-sorry to be such a bother…"

"You kidding? That was a great event." Gregory took a moment to think of a reward. "How about a free photo with a celeb of your choosing?"

"No… I don't want any rewards. Just being able to make people smile was enough." Nicky blushed.

"You sure, pal?" Gregory asked.

"I'm… I'm certain…"

"Okay then. Well, your prizes for the contest are still waiting," Gregory said. "Go on and get 'em."

Later that day, the group was back at the cafe.

"I can't believe we won the contest!" Cyrus said in joy, jumping up and down.

"That was really something." Haru blushed.

"But that was wise of you to pass that Spell Battle off as an event," Leon pointed out to Nicky.

Nicky shrugged. "I've fought Spell Battles in public a lot. It's almost normal for me now."

RRRRRRRRING! went Haruka's cell phone. He picked it up, wondering what had happened. "Hello? Oh, Hi Aunt Natsuki, how's... huh? WHAT?! He's in the hospital?!"

Haru's attention snapped to Haruka. "Wha!? Who's in the hospital?"

"Cousin Akihiko! Some freak stabbed him in the leg!" Haruka replied.

"Somebody WHAT!?" Haru's eyes went wide. "Unbelievable! I… who would do such a thing! Haruka, we gotta go see him!"

Haruka listened to their aunt on the phone for a minute before his reply. "Well, Auntie says he's going to be okay... Say... Doesn't Aki like that one guy who's here? Teren or whatever his name is, Jay's dad?"

"Taran Deschenes?" Haru asked.

"Yeah, him. Aki likes that guy's show… how about we go get some autographs and stuff from him?" the elder Taylor brother suggested.

"Oh, an autographed photo! That'll make a good get well card," Haru said. He was smiling unusually brightly.

"_Is he… okay?"_ Firewing whispered into Haruka's ear.

"He gets this way when in comes to family."

"You have a cousin?" Leon asked.

"Yeah," Haru said cheerfully. "His name's Akihiko, and he's really nice! He plays for this band that nobody knows about, they're named Free Deal or something. They aren't that good."

"Your cousin's in _Free Deal_?!" Almost immediately, Leon was up in Haru's face, as the others looked on in bewilderment. "Why didn't you say so!? They're the best ever! And _plenty _of people know about them, they've got a HUGE fan base."

"...Eh." Haru shrugged. Haruka mirrored the action with a "Meh" of his own.

"So, Akihiko's in the hospital?" Yukio asked.

Haruka nodded. "Sucks, but Auntie says he's gonna be alright."

"Wanna do something nice for him?" asked Cyrus.

"Uh-huh. Hey-" Haru looked around. "Where's that Jay kid?"

"BEHIND YOU!" a voice shouted behind Haru. Haru let out a little scream as someone covered his eyes.

It was Jay. "You called?" he asked cheekily, Blitz coming up behind him in fursuit.

"Yeah…."

"Can you take us to your dad? We need a huge favor." Haruka said.

"Sure," Blitz said. "What's up?"

"Our cousin, a huge fan of your dad, is in the hospital. Can you get us a picture with your dad, and have him sign it?"

Blitz and Jay nodded as one. "Of course!"

"_He doesn't have a Partner?" _Firewing asked. He and Ariel were riding on Haru's shoulders as he had Taran pose for a photo.

Ariel shook her head. "_Nuh-uh,_" she said. "_It's not that anyone even __**wants **__to partner with him, either. They __**can't**_."

"_Can't? Care to explain, please?" _Firewing asked.

"_Look at him." _Ariel pointed to Nicky, who was sitting in a corner and tearing pages from his sketchbook. "_And not just at him- at his aura. All Duel Spirits can see auras, right? Or is that only Spellcasters?"_

"_I can see them, yes." _Firewing said.

"_Look at his."_

Curiosity piqued, Firewing looked at Nicky's aura. However, his curiosity proved unwise, as he recoiled when he saw a sort of miasma around the boy. It was a thick, smoke-like substance colored in blood red and sickening purple, and Firewing felt sickened just looking at it. "_Ugh!" _he said, cringing. "_What IS that?"_

"_That's his aura- he's an Anathema. Bonding is poisonous to any Duel Spirit who tries to bond with him, Partner or Parasite."_

"_But why? Why is he a whatever you call it?" _Firewing shook his head.

"_His aura is corrupted by negative emotions to the point where they're fatal to creatures of magic like us."_

"_Well, he may be an Anathema, but he's a valuable ally." _Firewing smiled.

"_And a __**sadistic **__one." _Ariel shuddered. "_That smile…"_

Nicky heard their conversation, and turned to them, abandoning his book. "I'm glad you understand," he said gently. Ariel cringed as he gave them a kind smile, and returned to his work.


End file.
